Why don’t “climate concern” intentions translate into behavior change?

Here’s a note from Andreas Rasche:

New research looking into why people support climate action but then do not act. Main finding: While people in principle support a low-carbon lifestyle, entrenched public discussions of climate delay are limiting peoples’ beliefs that a low-carbon future is possible.

The study identifies four ‘entrenched’ public narratives of climate inaction (see image). Many people draw on elements of these narratives and thereby generate defensive responses to discussions of low-carbon lifestyles. This undermines the public’s belief that change is possible and fair…

Such research is critical as it moves beyond just looking at peoples’ intentions. For instance, very recent studies show:

(1) the vast majority of people want governments to take stronger climate action (80% across countries) and
(2) a majority of people are willing to pay for climate action (69% across countries).

BUT, we need to understand much better why these intentions do not translate into individual behaviour change – such as lifestyle choices and, most of all, voting behavior…