Behavioural Sciences Used by the United Nations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: A Roadmap and Some Stop Signs

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) and several UN Agencies have started to use behavioural sciences in order to achieve their policy goals, including for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). While it is appreciated that insights into actual behavior inform the policymaking of international actors, they also raise scientific and normative considerations that warrant caution. First, for those considerations it matters, who the acting and the targeted actors are: behavioural interventions come in many facets and warrant a differentiated view – a finely built roadmap is thus desirable. Second, there are concerns about the internal and external validity of experimental research on which behavioural sciences largely, but not solely, draws. Third, taking a differentiated view on behavioral sciences also allows for a more finely grained view on normative concerns underlying the operations of the United Nations in environmental policy. This contribution spells out those considerations while still advocating for the approach as such.