Mens & Maatschappij - Volume 95, Issue 3, 2020

The values behind climate action: How personal values and perceived group values can motivate and promote climate action

To reach global climate targets, it is key that individuals support and undertake climate action. What motivates such actions? We discuss how climate actions are rooted in – and motivated by – values, which reflect stable and general life goals that guide individuals’ behaviours. We focus on the often-studied personal values, as well as on the relatively new perceived group values, and discuss how these can motivate, and be used to promote, climate action. We highlight the importance of biospheric values (i.e., caring about the environment), and the key role perceived group values play in promoting climate action, particularly among less personally motivated individuals.

The transition to a fossil fuel free society is expected to affect the way we live considerably. As part of Dutch Climate Agreement (Klimaatakkoord) which aims to reduce CO2 emissions, the Dutch government has expressed the ambition to gradually move towards a ‘natural-gas-free’ built environment in 2050. This decision will eventually affect all citizens in the Netherlands, both home owners and tenants. In this paper we study the extent of public support for this policy ambition. We aim to unravel differences between groups, and factors explaining those differences. Data were collected in the LISS-panel, with an online questionnaire, in May 2019 (Verkenning Energietransitie 2019; VET’19). We performed data analyses in this large population study of Dutch residents, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results show significant differences by financial position, education, age, and gender, with higher support in those financially better off, with a higher level of education, younger adults (18-34 years), and women. These associations could be partly explained by psycho-social and contextual factors included in the model.

Behavioral-economic pitfalls in the energy transition

The energy transition requires large investments. The public debate in the Netherlands focuses on the associated costs, and the government uses traditional instruments such as subsidies. From the perspective of behavioral economics this approach has a few drawbacks. The goal of this article is to discuss behavioral-economic pitfalls which are important for two topics regarding the energy transition. First, households need to take measures themselves with regard to the switch to alternative energy sources. Several behavior-economic pitfalls influence households’ decisions. The most important ones are risk aversion, loss aversion, choice overload and motivation crowding out. A number of measures are discussed which the government might employ to facilitate this behavioral change by households. Second, large investments will be needed in the electricity network due to the energy transition. These costs might be mitigated by a behavioral change in energy use of households and firms: either by using less energy or by using energy at other times of the day. This might be achieved by introducing dynamic electricity tariffs. However, behavioral-economic pitfalls will affect the interest in such tariffs, most notably motivation crowding out and moral licensing. Their effects will be lessened if financial incentives are not emphasized.

Sustainability and Public Support: Political-Philosophical reflections on deliberative democracy and ‘glocalization’

This article explores two parallel strategies that could enhance a shift towards becoming a sustainable society. Such a transition requires major changes in lifestyle and coexistence and can only be achieved with extensive public support. We argue that innovative practices of democratic deliberation and strengthening a (g)local gaze could generate such much needed public support because they both involve citizens as critical co-creators in tangible processes of change. Both strategies depart from the everyday life-world experiences of people in their own living environments but also challenge them to resituate their personal concerns in broader planetary perspectives.

The legitimacy of climate policy is a necessary condition for the broad acceptance of government interventions and civic participation. News media are an important source of information for public perceptions and beliefs concerning climate change and climate policy, which people will use to grant or deny legitimacy. In this article we apply the theoretical perspective of media framing to analyse Dutch newspaper coverage of climate change and climate policy during April and May 2019, by means of systematic manual content analysis. We use these empirical findings to further reflect on their potential significance for policy legitimacy as experienced by their readership. Overall, the newspapers pay little attention to climate change as a contested phenomenon and to humanity’s contribution to its cause and solution. In the fight to reduce CO2-emission, the Dutch government is portrayed as the principal agent. The responsibility of individual citizens is less often highlighted. Hence, newspaper coverage does not seem to challenge the fight against climate change as a legitimate policy goal. It does, however, pay ample attention to specific policy interventions to reduce CO2-emission and the controversies that surround them. In line with, or as a reflection of these findings, differences within public opinion are to be expected concerning the legitimacy of policy interventions, both with regard to their desirability on paper (input) and their actual (side) effects (output).