ACT

We aim to understand how French residents comprehend and adapt to increasing risks associated with climate change. To do so, we have investigated the public's behavior from a novel, inter-disciplinary angle involving economics, marketing, social psychology and communication studies.

As part of this effort, we conducted a nation-wide online survey of consumer risk perception, attitudes and behavior. 3500 French residents answered a pool of questions about their understanding of climate change, their perceptions of climatic risk and their behaviors. In addition, a more qualitative, interview-based approach was taken to complement the nation-wide data in a more local context centered on the Département Alpes Maritimes. In parallel, online experiments inferring people’s intentions were implemented in order to study cross-national differences in consumers' reactions to the behavior of others with regard to environment.

From these three sets of data we have uncovered a number of intricate relationships between individual's perception of climate change risks, their level of psychological adaptation, and types of "green actions" that individuals may undertake. For example, it has been found that buying carbon offsets to compensate for the green-house-gas emissions due to travel is a surprisingly unpopular activity in France. It has also been established that "green action" is locally contagious, but only if this action is visible to neighbors. As a result, from the available data, we conclude that the main motivation to act "green" is tied to the willingness to fit in, rather than the willingness to take care of the environment.