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Human Action and Climate Change

Human Action and Climate Change. “Climate Change: Science and Solutions” 8th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment January 16, 2008 Washington, D.C. Thomas Dietz Director, Environmental Science and Policy Program Michigan State University.

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Human Action and Climate Change

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  1. Human Action and Climate Change “Climate Change: Science and Solutions” 8th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment January 16, 2008 Washington, D.C Thomas Dietz Director, Environmental Science and Policy Program Michigan State University

  2. Human Dimensions of Global Change • Encompasses research on human driving forces, vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation • Provides a scientific basis for understanding why climate change is happening, how it will impact things we care about and what can be done to adapt and mitigate • Good source for more information: • U.S. NRC Committee on Human Dimensions of Global Change • http://www7.nationalacademies.org/hdgc/ • Key reports: • New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information and Voluntary Measures • The Drama of the Commons

  3. Mitigating Climate Change: Stabilization Wedges • Reducing GHG emissions will require multiple strategies/ technologies • Pacala and Socolow identify 15 wedges to stabilize emissions by 2054. Things like: • Doubling nuclear power • Increase biofuels production to 50x current in Brazil or US • Capture emissions at source and sequester Source: Pacala and Socolow 2004

  4. Mitigating Climate Change: Stabilization Wedges • There are behavioral wedges that can be: • Deployed quickly; • With low, zero or often negative costs and minimal quality of life impacts; • Using solid social science knowledge; and • Can be assessed to develop a logical policy mix Source: Pacala and Socolow 2004

  5. Environmentally Significant Behaviors • Environmental activism • Nonactivist public sphere behaviors • Petitioning, voting, joining groups • Behavior in organizations • Shaping policy and practices • Private sphere behaviors • Consumer purchase behaviors • Maintenance of household equipment • Changes in equipment use (lifestyle, curtailment) • Waste disposal behaviors • “Green consumerism” After Stern 2000

  6. Environmentally Significant Behaviors • Environmental activism • Nonactivist public sphere behaviors • Petitioning, voting, joining groups • Behavior in organizations • Shaping policy and practices • Private sphere behaviors • Consumer purchase behaviors • Maintenance of household equipment • Changes in equipment use (lifestyle, curtailment) • Waste disposal behaviors • “Green consumerism” After Stern 2000

  7. Environmentally Significant Behaviors • Environmental activism • Nonactivist public sphere behaviors • Petitioning, voting, joining groups • Behavior in organizations • Shaping policy and practices • Private sphere behaviors • Consumer purchase behaviors • Maintenance of household equipment • Changes in equipment use (lifestyle, curtailment) • Waste disposal behaviors • “Green consumerism” After Stern 2000

  8. The Opportunities • Household and transportation emissions in the U.S.: • 32-41% of total U.S. emissions • 2.1 Billion tons • 8% of world total • Larger than total emissions of any nation except China • Larger than total for U.S. industrial sector After Vandenbergh et al. 2008

  9. Low Hanging Fruit • Criteria: • High elasticity—relatively small changes can have big payoffs • High plasticity—relatively easy to implement • Only things with small, zero or negative costs to the individual • No major lifestyle changes or capital investments • Existing research makes behavioral change seem plausible After York et al. 2002; Vandenbergh et al. 2008

  10. Low Hanging Fruit • 7 among dozens of opportunities • Reduce engine idling • Reduce standby power use • Faster adoption of compact fluorescents • Adjust temperate setting 2 degrees • Lower water heater temperatures • Maintain tire pressures • Replace vehicle air filters more frequently After Vandenbergh et al. 2008

  11. After Vandenbergh et al. 2008

  12. The Potential Impact of Behavioral Change • 150 million tons of CO2 by 2014 • Equivalent to: • Removing 26 million automobiles from the road, or • 25% of the reductions in the Lieberman-Warner Act, or • 75% of the new CAFÉ standards , or • 40% of a Pacala/ Socolow global stabilization wedge • Fast, cheap and easy • C at $10/ ton would allow investment of $1.5 B in these efforts After Vandenbergh et al. 2008

  13. The Need for Human Dimensions Research • We are substantially under-investing in both the behavioral wedge and the research to precede and accompany it. • We have very substantial literatures on which we can base research to drive the behavioral wedge into place • But we ignore this literature in assessing and implementing policy • In its discussion of building energy use, IPCC WG III devotes ~2% of its discussion to behavior • Investment in all human dimensions research is small and even declining • 1991– 3% of US federal global change research budget was human dimensions • 2006—2 % of a budget of about the same overall size • We are missing a critically important opportunity!

  14. Please join us for: "Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region,“ a conference at Michigan State University April 9-10, 2008 See: environment.msu.edu

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