Resource Type: Social Science Research

Don’t necessarily assume that climate hawks are actually doing much about the environment in their personal lives. Those highly concerned about climate change may be more supportive of government climate policies, but less likely to take personal actions such as recycling, using public transit, buying environmentally friendly consumer products, and using reusable shopping bags, as compared to those skeptical or indifferent about climate change.

Roadmaps and pathways for decarbonization often gloss over a fundamental question: How do deliberate social transformations happen? Often, the social complexity of transformation processes is downplayed or ignored in favor of technical solutions and behavioral approaches. In this article, the author explores three ‘spheres’ of transformation (the practical, political, and personal) and explores how they can be used to identify leverage points for transformations that support the 1.5 degree C target.