Environmental Psychology Groningen

Care about climate change? The evidence shows these are the most impactful actions you can take Care about climate change? Here's what the evidence shows are the most effective things you can do.

Very cool! The BBC is featuring the new SHIFT website that we built with @kimberlynicholas.bsky.social to advance tailored, science-based personal climate actions.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Turning mass support for environmental goals into action | PNAS Turning mass support for environmental goals into action

New commentary paper by our colleague @thijsbouman.bsky.social in @pnas.org on turning mass public support for proenvironmental goals into concrete actions:
"Limited environmental action may be explained by a lack of ability or opportunity, rather than a lack of caring"
@rug.nl @rug-gmw.bsky.social

As part of our Infra4NextGen project, @ess-survey.bsky.social has just released a new data summary that brings together insights from the European Social Survey, European Values Study, and the International Social Survey Programme...

infra4nextgen.com/wp-content/u... (1/)

Citizens' creative capital in energy governance: enacting inclusive energy governance in the Netherlands and France Citizens are, and will be, increasingly impacted by climate change and the energy transition. However, citizens are more often excluded from the gover…

What kind of energy policy could we have if average people were part of discussions and decisions on energy matters? Our colleague PhD candidate Adrien Chanteloup and coauthors interviewed Dutch & French citizens about what they thought just energy governance could look like

@rug-gmw.bsky.social

These findings were actually from a survey and published in an online tool, which you can search through yourself if you would like to see more specific details: capableclimate.eu/online-tool/

EU-burgers over klimaatmaatregelen: steun voor subsidies, tegen belastingen Na een zomer met meerdere hittegolven die erger worden gemaakt door klimaatverandering, laat een nieuwe studie zien dat veel EU-burgers bereid zijn...

After a summer of heatwaves worsened by climate change, a new study shows EU citizens support climate policy like investments in/subsidies for train travel. But taxes on polluting behaviors such as flying or meat consumption are less popular:

www.rug.nl/gmw/news/251...

@rug-gmw.bsky.social

Cutting methane is one of the fastest ways to slow climate heating.

Our new report explains how methane abatement can deliver cooling within years -- and why solutions are affordable, available, and urgent.

Read: www.ccag.earth/reports/meth...

That's why behavior change can make a huge difference, because if consumers are empowered to make more sustainable choices, that could decrease carbon emissions by up to 32%. And more climate policy (i.e. rail fund, insulation) are popular across Europe: capableclimate.eu/online-tool/

The public demands more climate action, not less - Climatic Change In this “biggest election year in history”, new governments are elected for around 50% of the world population. Election outcomes will substantially impact global climate action. Stronger governmental climate action is urgently needed, but political support for such action seems to weaken with the rise of the new right. Many new-right politicians oppose climate policy, and other politicians weaken their climate ambitions in response. However, substantial evidence shows that weakened support for governmental climate action opposes what the public wants. Across countries, demographics, and most political ideologies, majorities demand more—not less—governmental climate action. We explain in this essay why votes for new-right political parties should not be interpreted as votes against governmental climate action. Moreover, we explain why structural misperceptions of public opinion and biased political decision-making can lead politicians to oppose governmental climate actions that have strong public support. Finally, we propose ways in which political actors and policies could better represent what the public wants. These include ensuring that climate policies are designed to avoid negative impacts on other issues people also care about (e.g., job security, costs of living, trust in institutions, migration), or even improve such issues, while more actively highlighting the positive impacts of climate policy.

That does seem counterintuitive, but we also have research that suggests votes for new-right political parties shouldn't be interpreted as votes against governmental climate action: right wing voters also care about the climate, but they care more about other issues link.springer.com/article/10.1...

It's always worth resharing this research, which is just one of many papers that has affirmed that most people around the world believe climate change is happening, are concerned about it and perceive its consequences now (low psychological distance)

Wat is de signaalwarde van beleid? Tijdens een lezing op 2 oktober in Den Haag neemt ons collega Ellen van der Werff het publiek mee in de onderliggende processen en omstandigheden waaronder beleid dergelijke signalen geeft:

www.binnl.nl/Beheer/Formu...

@rug-gmw.bsky.social

Global Warming's Six Americas - Yale Program on Climate Change Communication Global Warming's Six Americas.

We know it can feel that way sometimes based on online discourse. But lots of research shows most Americans - believe in climate change and are concerned about it: only 10% of people are dismissive of it, and 12% doubt it: climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projec...

Publiek kiest voor groene waterstof, vertrouwen in producenten telt mee Het publiek accepteert vooral groene waterstof, opgewekt uit volledig hernieuwbare energie, terwijl blauwe waterstof, deels geproduceerd uit fossiele...

Thanks @rug.nl for highlighting @gpalomovelez.bsky.social's recent paper on acceptability of and trust in hydrogen producers!

In short: it depends on whether the hydrogen is green or blue, and whether the producers have a sustainable track record

www.rug.nl/gmw/news/250...

Analyse Wonen, stikstof, migratie: deze wetenschappers weten wél hoe je dat oplost Hoe zouden wetenschappelijke experts omgaan met de vele uitdagingen waarvoor Nederland staat? De uitkomsten zijn opvallend eenduidig – en hoopgevend.

Hoe zouden wetenschappelijke experts omgaan met de vele uitdagingen waarvoor Nederland staat, als ze het voor het zeggen hadden? Heleen de Coninck: "Het prettige is dat er al veel kan, en dat de meeste mensen best willen. Daarvan maken we nog te weinig gebruik."
www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v...

Most people around the world believe climate change is real and caused by humans. What is even more surprising? Most people—including the authors of this blog post—mistakenly assume the number of people who believe #climatechange is real to be lower than it is in reality.

spsp.org/news/charact...

Social Tipping Points and Plant-forward Eating We interview Dr Maddie Judge on the dynamics of moralised social change.

"We are often poor judges of the speed of cultural change, so we might currently be underestimating how open others are to hearing moral motives – if presented in a gentle way."
Our former colleague and research collaborator Maddie Judge talks tipping points:

phairsociety.org/2025/09/25/s...

Ander gedrag helpt ons uit de klimaatcrisis Minder vlees en vaker de fiets. Het klinkt als klein bier, maar leefstijlverandering kan tot zeker een kwart van de uitstootreductie opleveren Deze afleveri...

Minder vlees en vaker de fiets. Het klinkt als klein bier, maar leefstijlverandering kan tot zeker een kwart van de uitstootreductie opleveren
www.bnr.nl/podcast/duur...

And if you’d like to get our next quarterly issue in your inbox in December, subscribe today!

epgroningen.nl/sign-up-for-...

Our fall quarterly newsletter is (honestly almost too) full of news, including:

- A video with prof. Linda Steg about being a lead author on the next #IPCC report
- Nine (!) recent research papers
- Upcoming events (and vacancies)
- Introductions of new colleagues

mailchi.mp/dab9e8572724...

Our colleagues Lise Jans, Anne Eichholtzer, Lisa Hof and Charlie Walker Clarke will join forces with researchers from sociology, pedagogics, and communication science to better understand connections between group dynamics, communication, and societal change.

@rug-gmw.bsky.social @rug.nl

Centre of Expertise for Group Dynamics in Society Centre of Expertise for Group Dynamics in Society

The Centre of Expertise for Group Dynamics in Society is open! Our colleagues + other researchers will study:
⬆️ bottom-up shifts in sustainability norms
↔️ public discourse polarization
📱 the role of online communication in polarization
📣 making minorities feel heard in public participation panels

If second hand experiences, like a VR Arctic experience or a nature documentary, can catalyze people to into becoming ambassadors for the (Ant)arctic, they could become critical tools to encourage pro-environmental behavior with a much lower environmental impact.

epgroningen.nl/can-watching...

Hard-Fought Treaty to Protect Ocean Life Clears a Final Hurdle

Historic High Seas Treaty is a "turning point for humanity"

A United Nations treaty designed to protect the marine life and ecosystems of the high seas has received the 60th and final ratification needed to come into force.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/c...

CAPABLE (Climate Policy Acceptability Economic Framework) is an EU horizon-funded research project. Our colleagues assoc. prof. @thijsbouman.bsky.social, prof. Goda Perlaviciute & post doc Žan Mlakar co-coordinated survey data collection with peers at ETH Zurich. capableclimate.eu/online-tool/

These findings highlight the diversity of climate policy support, emphasizing the need for a tailored and multidimensional policymaking approach to develop robust constituencies for feasible and effective measures.

Women, higher-educated individuals, and younger people were consistently more willing to support all the climate policies (blue is positive, green is negative)

Some wide differences emerged across countries:
southern European countries like 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇫🇷 France & 🇮🇹 Italy showed support for at least 5 of the proposed policies
support was lower in Eastern European countries like 🇵🇱 Poland and 🇨🇿 Czechia

70% of the European population would support the creation of an EU Rail Fund
55% would support both household insulation mandates and banning private planes

Europeans strongly prefer policies subsidising train travel or home insulation & strongly oppose taxes on polluting behaviours, like cars and meat. The survey shows several climate change mitigation policies are supported by a majority of the respondents across the #EuropeanUnion. For instance:

Which #climate policies do EU citizens like – and which ones do they dislike? The results of a new survey of 19,000+ people across #Europe are now available in an online dashboard, showing how much EU citizens are willing to support different kinds of climate policies: capableclimate.eu/online-tool/