@Brett_Jenks_Official
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Brett Jenks
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I am excited to share my op-ed in Behavioral Scientist about a new research initiative we've undertaken at Rare to track climate progress. While Americans believe people SHOULD adopt climate-friendly behaviors, they severely underestimate how much OTHER people believe the same. We’ve taken to calling this a “normative bubble,” a gap between perception and reality that threatens the widespread adoption of behaviors. The initiative, called the Climate Culture Index, is tracking this bubble, and the psycho-social state of Americans related to the most impactful climate-friendly behaviors. The insights we draw from it could help partners in media, government, and elsewhere develop more effective strategies for shifting the culture toward sustainability. Give the piece a read and share your thoughts in the comments. https://behavioralscientist.org/to-make-progress-on-climate-action-pop-normative-bubbles/
To Make Progress on Climate Action, Pop ‘Normative Bubbles’ - By Brett Jenks - Behavioral Scientist
Why measuring Americans’ perceptions of others’ beliefs about climate action could be a key for climate progress.
https://behavioralscientist.org/to-make-progress-on-climate-action-pop-normative-bubbles/
Brett Jenks
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COP27 is in the rearview mirror, but global leaders must not put climate disasters in the rearview mirror. In just the past couple of years, we’ve seen 700,000 people displaced in Mozambique following a catastrophic cyclone, hundreds of thousands displaced in the Philippines by super typhoons, 247,000 Hondurans displaced by hurricanes with 183,000 more seeking protection outside the country. These countries and communities need the global community to act, and they need it now. Climate change is not the sole reason for humanitarian tragedies in these places around the world. But it is the great destabilizer, and its contribution cannot be denied. It fuels war, poverty, floods, and droughts, which in turn fuel displacement. Climate migration will be the biggest challenge the global community will face in the next 25 years. The UN expects over 200 million people to be displaced by 2050 due to worsening climate change. Those least responsible for climate change often bear the brunt of its consequences. Ironically, political leaders in industrialized nations, which are much more responsible for the emissions driving climate change, then turn these climate refugees into scapegoats, fueling xenophobia and a rightward lurch – and making substantive climate policies that much harder to pass. An equitable solution is needed to combat the great destabilizer. This means ensuring local control over resilient natural resources that thrive because of their sustainable management. At COP27, one of the big debates was over “loss and damage,” the concept where wealthy nations most responsible for climate change pay smaller, developing nations who bear the brunt of it. Money is one route. Rights should be another. The UN Convention on Biodiversity (COP15) being held in Montreal this week is an opportunity for action. We need to build the movement to give local people and Indigenous communities the rights – and the reasons – to be able to remain in their homes. Greater local control over resources not only offers communities stability, but is also a proven path to effective protection of ecosystems critical to combating climate change. Take, for example, coastal fisheries across the developing tropics, the vast majority of which lie within the territorial waters of nations. These areas of ocean are home to 100% of mangroves and seagrass beds, and 83% of coral reefs globally - ecosystems vital to both climate mitigation and adaptation. These areas are also where high human use meets high biodiversity, with nearly 500 million people relying on these waters for their livelihoods. But a lack of resources leads to poor or ineffective management, leaving them vulnerable to pollution, overfishing, or other destructive fishing practices. Put simply: Top-down management doesn’t work. However, empowering local governments and local communities to co-manage their fisheries is a proven way to protect nature while meeting the needs of people. Participatory, inclusive, and equitable management of fisheries encourages positive fishing behaviors within communities, and successful stewardship of the resources that protect them. In our experience, this has led to sustained efforts to conserve nature-based solutions to climate change. These are the types of solutions being advanced by the newly formed Climate Migration Council, convened by Emerson Collective. I’m honored to be a part of this remarkable group of visionary leaders from science, government, advocacy, and other sectors to address this impending crisis. During Climate Week in New York this past September, we convened for the first time. During the conversation, I was daunted by the scale of the problem. But I was inspired by how energized and solution-minded those around the table were. The Council can play a critical role in elevating the existential nature of climate migration as well as the unprecedentedly intersectional nature of solutions that may help reduce its impacts over the next fifty years. But this won’t happen on its own. It will require more public resources and greater private capital. Global leaders must stay ahead of this challenge. Loss and damage facilities are in everyone’s best interest, but mostly serve to address past fossil fuel consumption. It seeks to right past wrongs, but it does not help us envision a way forward. Looking ahead, we must begin to invest heavily in the biological, social, and economic resilience of the world’s most vulnerable communities. It might be the single best investment we can make in human development and nature protection in the decades to come. We need to build hope for these communities on the frontlines of climate change, especially as it becomes increasingly clear that eventually, we will all be standing on those same frontlines. Credit: Ezra Acayan / Getty Images
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Great statement
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71 w
Great Article, Brett.
Brett Jenks
75 w
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We Don't Have Time on Twitter
““You can’t change systems without individual behavior change and systems change enables and accelerates individual change”, says @brettjenks, CEO of @rare_org in the session on Water & Gender. Watch more #COP27 on @WeDontHaveTime: https://t.co/GfqABs0qRo #WeDontHaveTime”
https://twitter.com/WeDontHaveTime/status/1592158141226971148?s=20&t=bUMtgkTN5AHVs36QVDDlBg
I was so pleased to join We Don't Have Time's broadcast from #COP27 and discuss why individual people play a meaningful role in addressing climate change. Companies react to consumer trends. Politicians follow popular opinion. We know that one person eating an Impossible burger will not solve the climate crisis. But building a critical mass of people who eat less meat can pave the way to systemic change. Shifting social norms is a powerful and underutilized strategy we have in the climate fight. We are social animals. We thrive in communities. When the community changes, we change with it. In fact, the best predictor of climate action is whether a person believes that other people are already taking action. When climate-friendly actions are seen as common, normal, and expected, people are more likely to change their behavior. Rare’s innovative Climate Culture Index measures what individual Americans are thinking about various high-impact climate actions and what they are DOING about them. What we've found is that people think they are alone in believing others should act on climate change. There is a huge gap between what people think other people believe about taking climate action, and what those people actually believe. We call it the "normative bubble." The Index will help us measure that bubble, and plan interventions to pop it by normalizing key climate-friendly behaviors. Learn more at rare.org/climate-culture-index. https://twitter.com/WeDontHaveTime/status/1592158141226971148?s=20&t=bUMtgkTN5AHVs36QVDDlBg
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One of the most interesting moments of COP for sure! It's such a great tool for people to understand how behavioural change and climate action are linked
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63 w
Thank you for sharing your op-ed, this is very interesting, I really like the thought behind the Climate Culture Index and I think it will be a very important tool to develop climate policies in the future. What do you think could be a way to go around this "climate culture gap"? Is it more communication or better communication?
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63 w
Love this a lot as our psychology is making all the difference in these our current situation. Both for how we got here, band also how we get out of it. And you saying that “that the strongest unique predictor of intention to take high-impact climate action is whether a person believes that other people are already taking that action.” perfectly fits to what I’m always saying, namely that being a good example is the most powerful way to inspire others to take action too. Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks for sharing your op-ed! I like your quote "If the government cuts a $1,500 check for a heat pump but no one claims it, does it make an impact?". It reminds me of the "if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to here it, does it make a sound?"