Facilitating Climate Change Responses A Report of Two Workshops on Knowledge from the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2010) / Chapter Skim
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2 The Potential for Limiting Climate Change Through Household Action
2 The Potential for Limiting Climate Change Through Household Action
Pages 27-44
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From page 27... ...
In this chapter several leading behavioral and social scientists report on empirical research that helps clarify the basis for the energy efficiency gap and identify effective strategies for narrowing it. Although efforts to reduce household emissions have varied greatly in their effectiveness (National Research Council, 1985; Gardner and Stern, 2002)
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From page 28... ...
The research by Charles Wilson suggests some additional program features that can be applied in programs to change household behavior by influencing manufacturers and retailers. Although much is yet to be learned, the behavioral research presented in this chapter increases understanding of the energy efficiency gap and identifies a variety of instruments of behavioral change that might be effective with respect to household action, in combination either with the current economic incentives or with enhanced ones.
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From page 29... ...
Several of the presentations will look at the evidence on actual determinants of those choices. THE BEHAVIORAL WEDGE: THE NATIONAL POTENTIAL FOR EMISSIONS REDUCTION FROM HOUSEHOLD ACTION Thomas Dietz1 Michigan State University Thomas Dietz presented work that he did in collaboration with Gerald Gardner, Jonathan Gilligan, Paul Stern, and Michael Vandenbergh (Dietz et al., 2009)
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From page 30... ...
Reasonably achievable emissions reduction (MtC) FIGURE 2-1 Technical potential and reasonably achievable emissions reductions from 17 household actions in the United States in million tons of carbon (MtC)
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From page 31... ...
; strong marketing, including social marketing; information on how to take advantage of a program; convenience; quality assurance; and a focus on actions with high potential emissions reductions. The exact design has to be sensitive to the target behavior and the choice context.
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From page 32... ...
She mentioned a McKinsey report, indicating that only 15 percent of Americans see insulation as the preferred means to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 50 percent who cited recycling and energy-efficient appliances. In another study, three-quarters of respondents estimated that home energy retrofits would save 10 percent or less, while savings estimates from professional energy analysts are in the range of 10-25 percent.
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From page 33... ...
A 1982 study of refrigerator purchases found that energy information at the point of sale is important, that labels were not very effective, and that emphasis by appliance sales staff on energy efficiency made little difference. Notably, however, the commission-based compensation structure for appliance sales personnel appears to lead to sales of more expensive and larger models of refrigerators, which, while efficient, tend to use more energy than smaller models.
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From page 34... ...
Social norms -- an individual's beliefs about the common and accepted behavior in a specific situation -- are formed primarily through social interactions and exert powerful influence on behavior, especially in novel situations. He distinguished between injunctive norms (beliefs about what others approve of)
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Low consumers increased usage when given only descriptive norm information but, when the injunctive norm was added, decreased usage slightly. Schultz's group then worked with the firm OPOWER to turn the idea into a product, marketed to utilities, to be scaled up from the small experiment level.
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From page 36... ...
evidence that framing energy savings in terms of money does make people think about energy that way, with the result that, if the savings are small, they may decide not to change their behavior. Another questioner, saying that a pilot study indicated that using two frames produced a greater effect than one, asked if Schultz had combined social norms and public commitment.
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From page 37... ...
There have been many successful initiatives, generally at the state level, to intervene in supply chains for energy efficiency. The American Council for an EnergyEfficient Economy disseminates these examples.
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From page 38... ...
(2009) behavioral wedge paper can be divided according to the form of household contact with supply chain; 53 percent of the potential emissions estimated in that paper require direct household contact with the supply chain and can be influenced through the supply chain.
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From page 39... ...
People's stated motivations for amenity improvements tend to be emotional before the decision and more cognitive afterward. Wilson noted that the scope of home improvements often expands during the decision process, as households commit to going ahead with the improvements, confirm their affordability, and become more informed through contact with the supply FIGURE 2-3 Homeowner expenditures for home improvements, by purpose, United States, 1995-2007.
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From page 40... ...
With an amenity improvement, a real estate agent might recommend that the seller fix the kitchen and then ensure that potential buyers look at the kitchen, thus making the investment both visible and valued. Could real estate agents be educated similarly to ensure that energy efficiency is valued by the marketplace?
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From page 41... ...
Ehrhardt-Martinez said that it is necessary to map the diversity in motives and in ability to take action and then to develop policies that take this diversity into account. Economic in Comparison with Other Social Science Analyses Much of the discussion addressed the difference between economic analyses of energy efficiency, based on presumptions of "rationality" that emphasize the material incentives that affect choices, and the approaches in these presentations, which draw on behavioral research and presume a broader range of influences on choice.
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From page 42... ...
A participant suggested that some private businesses might share data on their efforts. John Dernbach observed that current climate legislation -- cap and trade, tax credits, cash for clunkers -- makes a large number of behavioral assumptions.
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From page 43... ...
There is a need to tie the IPCC community down to these claims and require social science input and also to get the modelers to include more social science in their models. Potential for Larger Behavioral Changes Anthony Leiserowitz returned to the issue of larger behavioral changes raised by Lutzenhiser.
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