One of the most pressing challenges facing humanity today is halting climate change. Although the European Union has set the ambitious goal of achieving net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050, progress in reducing emissions has so far been insufficient. This project aims to use insights and tools from behavioral economics to identify interventions capable of significantly changing citizens’ behavior and improving overall well-being, both physical and psychological, without generating resentment or negative reactions.
The research focuses on a particular mechanism: the social norm of conditional cooperation. This concept is based on evidence showing that, in social dilemmas such as those posed by climate change, individuals are generally willing to cooperate, but tend to do so only when others also engage in cooperative behavior. The project seeks to deepen our understanding of this social norm and harness its potential to promote lasting behavioral change in the area of environmental sustainability.
The project is organized into two Work Packages (WPs). WP1 investigates the main factors associated with conditional cooperation, with a particular focus on concrete environmentally sustainable behaviors. This analysis is conducted through a survey administered to an online panel. WP2 aims to leverage the potential of the norm of conditional cooperation through the implementation of several field interventions designed to significantly alter individual behavior.
In particular, WP2 includes interventions in two main areas:
Sustainable mobility
Waste reduction and recycling
With regard to sustainable mobility, the intervention targets university students and involves the development of a mobile application capable of monitoring the use of sustainable transportation modes and providing both material and psychological incentives to encourage a shift from private car use to more sustainable forms of transport. The mobility intervention also includes monitoring participants’ physical activity and psychological well-being, which are considered important additional indicators for evaluating its effectiveness. Regarding waste reduction and recycling, a collaboration was established with the Municipality of Varese. The objective was to introduce nudging interventions, that is, behavioral incentive strategies designed to reduce the amount of waste generated and increase the proportion of waste directed toward recycling.
The project aims to generate both scientific and practical impact by contributing to the advancement of academic research and supporting the development of concrete strategies to promote sustainable behavior.
