STUDY FOCUS The paper investigates the effectiveness of various expert-crowdsourced interventions designed to motivate global behavior change in response to climate change. Analyzing data from 59,440 participants across 63 countries, the study tests 11 interventions aimed at improving four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing, and tree-planting behaviors. The findings reveal that while some interventions had minor effects—such as decreasing psychological distance to strengthen beliefs and inducing negative emotions to enhance information sharing—none significantly increased more effortful behaviors like tree planting. Additionally, the effectiveness of these interventions varied based on participants’ initial climate beliefs, indicating that tailored approaches may be necessary. POLICY RECOMMENDATION To effectively drive climate behavior change, policymakers should adopt tailored interventions that consider the diverse beliefs and motivations of different audience segments. Strategies should focus on reducing psychological distance and fostering emotional engagement while recognizing that more demanding behaviors may require distinct approaches. Continuous evaluation and adaptation of interventions will be essential to enhance their effectiveness across various contexts and populations. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND SUSTAINABILITY Vlasceanu, Madalina; Doell, Kimberly C.; Bak-Coleman, Joseph B.; ... Tyrala, Michael, ... & Van Bavel, Jay J. (2024). “Addressing Climate Change with Behavioral Science: A Global Intervention Tournament in 63 Countries”. Science Advances 10(6). STUDY FOCUS This study investigates the role of urban agglomerations in mainland China in achieving national objectives for ‘Carbon Peak’ and ‘Carbon Neutrality’ through strategies that mitigate environmental risks. It focuses on the industrial sector across thirteen urban agglomerations (TUAs) from 2006 to 2016, employing a comprehensive decomposition framework based on the Malmquist productivity index. This framework allows for an analysis of whether changes in productivity are driven by efficiency improvements or technological advancements, considering various input and output variables such as capital and labor. The findings indicate an average annual environmental productivity gain of 2.6% during the study period, reflecting an overall enhancement in productivity within the industrial sectors of the TUAs. However, a detailed analysis reveals that while energy use and pollutant management contributed positively to environmental productivity growth, the ‘catch-up effect’—representing the ability of less advanced areas to emulate more productive regions—was negative at -0.2%. This suggests that the TUAs struggled to reach the productivity levels of their more advanced counterparts, primarily due to negative impacts from industrial energy use and capital inputs. POLICY RECOMMENDATION The study emphasizes the need for technology transfers from more developed regions to less advanced ones, particularly in renewable energy and capital investments. Such transfers are critical for improving environmental performance and productivity within the industrial sectors of the TUAs, highlighting the importance of strategic collaboration and investment in fostering sustainable development. Chen, Xiaodong, Zhuang Miao, Ge Wu, and Pengyu Zhu. “City-level green growth accounting: Evidence from China’s thirteen urban agglomerations.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 203 (2024): 114776. 19 SCHOLARLY SHOWCASE
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