Climate Change, Behaviour and Economics

This book explores the complex relationship between climate change and human behaviour, and brings together a diverse range of contributions that examine international and industry contexts through the lens of behavioural economics, addressing persistent intention-action gap.

This book explores the complex relationship between climate change and human behaviour, which is often shaped by cognitive biases, established norms, past experiences, and a tendency toward maintaining the status quo—making meaningful change challenging. It brings together a diverse range of contributions that examine international and industry contexts through the lens of behavioural economics, addressing persistent intention-action gap. The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces the theoretical foundations and traces the evolution of scientific thought from classical rationality to bounded rationality and ethicality in the context of climate change. It includes a systematic bibliometric mapping of global research trends and examines the crucial role of information flows, media literacy, and disinformation in shaping climate attitudes. Part II focuses on climate change mitigation, presenting empirical studies on energy transitions, fossil fuel “addiction,” and circular economy interventions specifically targeting the consumption patterns of adolescents and young adults. Part III addresses spatial and community adaptation, exploring mobility patterns, nature-based solutions in European cities, and the management of private green spaces. It concludes with global perspectives on climate migration narratives and the collective resilience of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). By offering a comprehensive and interdisciplinary look at human behaviour in the face of climate change, the book integrates advanced methods such as discrete choice experiments, social network analysis, and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) which inspires further research and action in this ever-evolving field. It is essential reading for academics, researchers, students, as well as economists, environmentalists and policymakers concerned with the economic and psychological dimensions of climate-related decision-making.