Low-carbon Behavior Research Articles

Are radical changes to lifestyles necessary for mitigating climate change?

Many policy-makers and commentators propose that technological change alone will solve climate change. In this commentary, we argue that this techno-optimism is unrealistic, risky, and misses opportunities to improve well-being: radical behavioural change is essential for tackling climate change. While some behaviour change involves adopting green technologies, some are about changing how (much) we consume. Change is needed in our travel and dietary habits, material, energy and water use, in how we work and play. But not everyone needs to make radical lifestyle changes – the wealthiest need to change most. Achieving this will require policies that make low-carbon behaviours easier, cheaper, and more attractive. Tackling climate change requires a shift to a more equitable society and one in which happiness is prioritised over consumption.

Differences in willingness to pay for various types of carbon-labeled products: A dynamic perspective

Carbon labeling (CL) is a carbon reduction policy with development potential that has not yet been widely promoted worldwide. This study explores the trend of consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for different types of carbon-labeled products from a dynamic perspective, to provide a reference for future pilot projects. The research team collected 3788 valid questionnaires from China's first-tier cities spanning a five-year period and used interval regression to analyze the impact and change of consumer traits on WTP for the four types of carbon-labeled products in 2019 and 2024. The bootstrap method was further used to examine the impact mechanisms to explore ways to improve the current situation. This study found that (1) WTP for food, textiles, electronics, and other household products with CL generally decreased from 2019 to 2024. Textiles and electronics experienced a smaller decline, while food and other household products witnessed larger decreases. (2) The effect of consumer characteristics on WTP changes from 2019 to 2024. Consumers' frequency of low-carbon behaviors no longer significantly affects WTP across all product categories, while attitudes toward CL only affect textiles and electronics. (3) Consumers' perceived environmental value is the mechanism by which personal traits affect WTP. Finally, based on the findings, this study suggests that the selection of textiles and electronics as a pilot product is more likely to be accepted by consumers and that emphasis should be placed on the promotion of the environmental values of CL.

How does ethical climate attract employees’ low-carbon behaviour? The role of environmental passion and green mindfulness

Abstract This study employs social cognitive theory to examine the dynamics of ethical climate, environmental passion, and low-carbon behaviours among Malaysian public servants based on data from 407 employees across 37 departments. Although ethical climate did not have a direct impact on low-carbon behaviour, a significant association with environmental passion was observed. Additionally, environmental passion exhibited a noteworthy relationship with low-carbon behaviour, and emerged as a mediator between ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour, with green mindfulness moderating this relationship. These findings underscore the importance of nurturing environmental passion and green mindfulness to promote low-carbon behaviour among employees and aid organisations in addressing environmental challenges. By addressing these empirical gaps, this study contributes to the literature on low-carbon behaviour and offers both theoretical insights and practical implications for sustainability initiatives.

Mapping the Path to Low-Carbon Behaviour: A Systematic Review of Trends, Gaps, and Future Directions

It is essential to conduct research on low-carbon behaviour in order to address global climate change and promote sustainable development. This study conducts a thorough examination of a bibliometric analysis of the existing literature in this field. We analysed 129 papers from the Web of Science Core Collection database to conduct a study on the concept of “low-carbon behaviour”. Review articles, proceedings papers, and editorial materials were all excluded. This investigation examines a diverse array of research environment factors, including the most highly ranked publications, publication trends, significant publishers, and patterns in citations and publications over time. The primary institutional contributors in the discipline and the most influential works worldwide are also mentioned. The application of advanced visualisation techniques, such as wordcloud representations, the spatial distribution of research output, and co-occurrence and overlay networks, is employed to generate maps of keyword relationships and collaboration networks using Bibliometrix Stable Version, VOSviewer 1.6.20, and Scimago Graphica Beta 1.0.45. This multi-modal methodology enables a comprehensive investigation of significant research issues and emerging directions in low-carbon behavioural studies. This study contributes to the ongoing endeavours to promote sustainable development and mitigate climate change by conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the current state of research and establishing a robust framework for future investigations into low-carbon behavioural patterns and behaviours.

Crossing Spatial Boundaries: A Study on the Impact of Green Human Resource Management on Employees’ Household Pro-Environmental Behaviors

To respond more effectively to the current increasingly serious environmental problems, the boundary of corporate social responsibility is expanding. In this context, how to take green responsibility for each stakeholder has become a topic of concern for all sectors of society. However, there is still a gap in research on how green human resource management (GHRM) affects employees’ household pro-environmental behavior (PEB) from a cross-domain work–family perspective to achieve CSR more comprehensively. Our study argues that companies can use GHRM across the work–family boundary to influence employees’ household pro-environmental behaviors to achieve positive contributions to the social environment. Our study uses 310 questionnaires collected in southeastern China to conduct an empirical analysis and concludes that GHRM can positively shape green attitudes, help employees perceive green subjective norms, and develop green self-efficacy. Consistent with the findings of the Theory of Planned Behavior, individuals’ green attitudes, green subjective norms, and green self-efficacy can effectively enhance individuals’ household pro-environmental behavioral intentions, which in turn enables the prediction of individuals’ household pro-environmental behaviors. In conclusion, our study extends the influence of GHRM to a wider range of non-work domains and points the way to the full realization of corporate social responsibility by companies. In addition, our study emphasizes that with the subtle cultivation of companies, individuals can become fans of green and low-carbon behaviors, and through the widespread implementation of pro-environmental behaviors, it can reach a virtuous circle of environmental protection as a whole.

The Peer Effects of Residents’ Carbon Emission Behavior: An Empirical Analysis in China

The responsible low-carbon behavior of household residents is a crucial factor for the purpose of achieving carbon neutrality in the economy and society. Based on the peer effects theory, this study constructs a fixed-effects model to empirically analyze the existence, heterogeneity, and action mechanism of peer effects in household carbon emission behavior, which uses panel data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). The results indicate that peer effects have a significantly positive impact on residents’ carbon emission behavior, and the results are verified by the robustness test in various ways. Further mechanism tests show that peer effects influence carbon emission behavior through methods including the learning imitation mechanism and competitive imitation mechanism. In addition, we find that peer effects have different impacts on residents’ carbon emission behavior in varying regions, income levels, education levels, and ages groups. This study aims to embed residents’ carbon emission behavior into the strong relationship between surrounding groups, raise consumers low-carbon awareness through publicity, guidance, and group interaction, form a low-carbon atmosphere for the whole society, and contribute to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals.

How policy satisfaction affects residents’ low-carbon behavior: the mediating role of place attachment

ABSTRACT Policy interventions can effectively promote the public’s low-carbon behaviors (LCBs), provided the public already understands and perceives the policy. The extent to which the public gets to know the policy is easily overlooked in relevant studies. Based on a survey conducted in Hangzhou, China, this paper compares the residents’ satisfaction with the policies promoting LCBs. Furthermore, the impact of different levels of policy satisfaction on the willingness to engage in LCBs with place attachment as a mediator is also investigated. The results show that respondents’ policy satisfaction is moderately high, with female respondents (3.479) slightly higher than males (3.430). The policy satisfaction, from high to low, is administrative regulations (3.515), technical interventions (3.463), information tools (3.457), and economic incentives (3.384). Policy satisfaction has a significant effect on willingness to engage in LCBs and place attachment, and place attachment has a positive effect on willingness to engage in LCBs. Place attachment plays a partial mediating role in the influence path of policy satisfaction on the willingness of LCBs. The study provides insights for policymakers on enhancing policy dissemination and engagement, particularly in the context of gender differences, and offers a comprehensive view of the dynamics driving sustainable behavior change in urban China.

(Non-)terrestrial and (Non-)local pathways of behavioral policy diffusion in European cities’ climate action plans: Contextual, cultural, and leadership framing

This study investigates the spread of innovative behavioral (green nudging) policies within city-level Climate Action Plans (CAPs) across the European Union, focusing on how these innovations diffuse and the factors influencing their adoption. Using textual analysis with a dataset consisting of CAPs from 40 cities across Europe, we categorized various green nudging innovations and then tracked their origins and uptake. Then, we employed fsQCA (Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis) to identify the key factors driving diffusion. The findings reveal that while certain innovations, particularly in the building and transportation sectors, have achieved widespread adoption, other initiatives like community co-creation and urban parks have seen lower diffusion. Local terrestrial factors, especially sectoral carbon emissions, are significant drivers, with cities facing higher emissions more likely to adopt these policies. Interestingly, local emissions levels and strong climate leadership emerge as more critical determinants than economic status or climate similarities. The study identifies two primary diffusion pathways—Cultural Leadership for Emission Reduction and Local Adaptive Synergy—demonstrating the diverse strategies cities employ based on their unique contexts. This research highlights the importance of expanding green nudging measures in CAPs beyond technological and infrastructure domains to promote low-carbon behaviors comprehensively.

Hot Deformation Behavior and Constitutive Modeling of High Strength Low-Carbon Alloyed Steel Manufactured by Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing

Hot Deformation Behavior and Constitutive Modeling of High Strength Low-Carbon Alloyed Steel Manufactured by Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing

Evolutionary game theoretical approach for reducing carbon emissions in a complex supply chain organization

PurposeOur research explores the intricate behavior of low-carbon supply chain organizations in an ever-evolving landscape, emphasizing the profound implications of government-mandated low-carbon policies and the growing low-carbon market. Central to our exploration is applying a combined game theory model, merging Evolutionary Game Theory (EGT) with the Shapley Value Cooperative Game Theory Approach (SVCGTA).Design/methodology/approachWe establish a two-tier supply chain featuring retailers and manufacturers within this novel framework. We leverage an integrated approach, combining strategic Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperative Game Theory, to conduct an in-depth analysis of four distinct low-carbon strategy combinations for retailers and manufacturers.FindingsThe implications of our findings transcend theoretical boundaries and resonate with a trinity of economic, environmental and societal interests. Our research goes beyond theoretical constructs to consider real-world impacts, including the influence of changes in government low-carbon policies, the dynamics of consumer sensitivities and the strategic calibration of retailer carbon financing incentives and subsidies on the identified ESS. Notably, our work highlights that governments can effectively incentivize organizations to reduce carbon emissions by adopting a more flexible approach, such as regulating carbon prices, rather than imposing rigid carbon caps.Originality/valueOur comprehensive analysis reveals the emergence of an Evolutionary Stability Strategy (ESS) that evolves in sync with the phases of low-carbon technology development. During the initial stages, our research suggests that manufacturers or retailers adopt low-carbon behavior as the optimal approach.

To Achieve Carbon Neutrality, What Do Individual Residents Say? A Case Study of Yunnan Province of China Based on Spatial Analysis

This study aims to explore factors that affect individual residents’ behaviors contributing to reducing carbon emissions (low-carbon behaviors), based on the empirical analysis of the choice of adoption and the extent of adoption of low-carbon practices, such as using low-carbon transportation and energy-saving, in Kunming, China. We use spatial econometric regression models to consider positive spillover of low-carbon behaviors amongst residents as people tend to obtain knowledge and learn good actions from those located nearby. The results show the existence of positive spillover effects of low-carbon behaviors across several types of low-carbon practices. We find that location effects, such as access to parks, residents’ knowledge of carbon neutrality, and science communications in the local community are the most important determinants of residents’ low-carbon behaviors. The findings may provide insights into designing supporting policies to incentivize residents’ low-carbon behaviors and contribute to the pathway toward carbon neutrality from the micro-perspective.

Leading by example from high-status individuals: exploring a crucial missing link in climate change mitigation

Behaviour change has great potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly, helping to prevent dangerous global warming. Some of the most impactful changes are: flying less, eating less meat, driving electric cars, improving home energy efficiency, increased use of public transport and active travel. However, these choices have proved elusive at scale and are rarely encouraged or modelled by high-status individuals (“leaders”), despite established knowledge about the influence of leaders as role models. Applying theories of embodied leadership and credibility enhancing displays, our novel pre-registered survey experiment (n = 1267) reveals that visible leading by example from politicians and celebrities significantly increases the willingness of members of the UK public to make these high-impact low-carbon choices. In addition, leading by example greatly increases perceptions of leader credibility, trustworthiness, competence, and favourability. We find no significant effects of leading by example on people’s wider perceptions of climate change, but a strong “appetite for leadership” among the public is revealed. In light of these findings, we discuss how embodied leadership by way of visible low-carbon behaviour from leaders may provide a crucial “missing link” for climate change mitigation.

Navigating the personal carbon inclusion scheme: An evolutionary game theory approach to low-carbon behaviors among socio-economic groups

In response to the challenges posed by climate change, China has launched the Personal Carbon Inclusion (PCI) scheme to encourage individuals to transition towards low-carbon lifestyles. This study investigates the behaviors of participants within the PCI scheme using a tripartite evolutionary game model, encompassing high-income and low-income individuals, as well as the PCI platform itself. The research analyzes participants' strategies, examines the evolutionary stability of different strategies, and assesses the robustness of equilibrium points within the game dynamics. Key findings reveal: (1) High-income participants tend to be less willing to adopt low-carbon behaviors compared to low-income participants. (2) The PCI platform displays limited proactive engagement in promoting low-carbon policies. (3) Factors, particularly the cost and pricing mechanisms of low-carbon actions, significantly impact the evolutionary progression of the system. Moreover, practical recommendations are provided to enhance the effectiveness of PCI schemes.

Editorial: Low carbon behavior management and digitalization challenges and opportunities

Editorial: Low carbon behavior management and digitalization challenges and opportunities

“We can't be too saintly”: Why members of parliament in the United Kingdom are reluctant to lead by example with low-carbon behaviour

Low-carbon behaviour change from individuals is both essential for meeting climate change targets and highly politically contentious. Shifting away from activities such as flying, driving and meat eating can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, yet political leaders have avoided introducing policies to stimulate this for fear of alienating voters and confronting political orthodoxies. This article examines low-carbon behaviour change through the novel lens of individual leadership and leading by example. Applying threories of credibility enhancing displays (CREDs) and embodied leadership, we present evidence from 19 interviews with UK members of parliament (MPs), exploring how they think leading by example may affect their credibility as democratic representatives. We find that MPs believe leading by example is important as a general principle but is problematic when it comes to low-carbon behaviour. While some MPs do deliberately model sustainable behaviours to maintain credibility as climate advocates, they tend to do this quietly for fear of negative reactions from the media, political rivals, and constituents. MPs say modelling low-carbon behaviour may be perceived as a threat to individual freedoms, such as flying for holidays, and risks disapproval from local business interests related to high-carbon activities, such as car manufacturers or the airline industry. Even pro-climate MPs tend to frame low-carbon behaviour as “extreme”, and position themselves in contrast to this extreme, thus perpetuating social and moral norms of high-carbon behaviour. We discuss how individual politicians form part of a systemic resistance to low-carbon behaviour change.

Design of a Digital Platform for Carbon Generalized System of Preferences Communities Based on the TAO Model of Three-Way Decisions

The increasing carbon dioxide emissions from human activities present a significant global concern, with approximately two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to household activities. The Carbon Generalized System of Preferences (CGSP) has emerged as a pivotal mechanism to incentivize voluntary carbon reduction in community households. This paper examines the development of a community digital management platform designed to incentivize voluntary carbon reduction at the community level, highlighting the critical role of reducing emissions in urban community life to meet carbon peak and neutrality targets. This study employs the TAO model of Three-Way Decision to establish a closed-loop operational framework for the CGSP digital platform. The platform features a Trisection mechanism to record and quantify low-carbon behaviors, an Action mechanism to classify and reward community members, and an Outcome mechanism to assess overall community carbon reduction achievements. Additionally, a user interface tailored for community users is developed to enhance platform accessibility. The proposed platform presents a practical and innovative solution for exploring emission reduction potential in urban communities. By systematically recording low-carbon behaviors, providing targeted rewards, and conducting comprehensive assessments, the platform aims to guide community residents in adopting sustainable practices. This study offers a valuable reference for the digital transformation, intelligent system construction, and development of new urban functional units within communities.

The Synergistic Effect of Urban Economic, Social and Space Factors on Residential Carbon Emissions: A Case Study on Provincial Capitals in China

Within the context of China’s commitment to carbon reduction goals, particularly in urban areas, addressing carbon emissions stemming from residents’ travel activities assumes paramount significance. Drawing upon established theoretical frameworks, this study advances several hypotheses delineating the determinants of low-carbon behaviors among urban residents. It analyzes panel data from 30 provincial capitals in China using a time–individual dual fixed effects model. This study empirically scrutinizes the posited theoretical model, aiming to elucidate the factors shaping urban residents’ low-carbon behavioral patterns and provide a decision-making basis for low-carbon construction and management of urban space. The findings underscore several notable associations. The disposable income, population density, and urban built-up areas exhibit significant positive correlations with carbon emissions among residents. Conversely, the urban gross domestic product (GDP) displays a significant negative correlation with carbon emissions. Furthermore, a positive correlation is discerned between the expanse of green spaces and the per capita carbon emissions intensity, while the availability of subway systems exhibits a negative correlation with both the per capita public green space area and the carbon emissions intensity. Notably, the configuration intensity of urban bus systems manifests an inverted U-shaped relationship with residents’ carbon emissions intensity. Specifically, within a certain threshold, an escalation in the bus equipment intensity coincides with heightened carbon emission intensity; however, beyond this threshold, a notable reduction in the per capita carbon emissions intensity ensues. Additionally, a U-shaped relationship is observed between the number of urban parks and residents’ carbon emissions intensity, indicating that an increase in parks may not necessarily contribute to carbon reduction efforts. Moreover, a discernible synergy is observed among various factors influencing carbon reduction efforts. These factors encompass residents’ education levels and disposable incomes, the presence of subway and regular public transportation systems, urban land utilization scales, economic development levels, green space provisions, public transportation infrastructure, population densities, and land equilibrium. This interplay underscores the interconnectedness and interdependence of diverse variables in shaping strategies for mitigating carbon emissions within urban contexts.

Motivation and guidance of college students' low-carbon behavior: evidence from Chinese colleges and universities.

In the context of the global implementation of the emission peak and carbon-neutral strategic goal, guiding residents' low-carbon behavior is of great significance for the realization of the dual carbon goal. However, existing studies have paid less attention to the low-carbon behavior of college students. Based on the theory of planned behavior, this paper constructs a theoretical model of influencing factors of college students' low-carbon behavior. Combined with 612 questionnaires from Chinese colleges and universities, this study uses a structural equation model and multi-group analysis method to explore the motivation of college students' low-carbon behavior and guiding education strategies. The results show that low-carbon attitude, subjective norms, low-carbon values, and perceived behavior control have significant positive effects on low low-carbon behavior intention of college students, and influence their low-carbon behavior through low-carbon behavior intention. Further research found that gender and growth environment (urban vs. rural) presented heterogeneity in different influence paths, and the perceived cost had a significant negative moderating effect during the transition from low-carbon intention to low-carbon behavior. These research findings provide a theoretical basis and policy inspiration for explaining and guiding the low-carbon behavior of college students.

Driving role of perceived psychological factors in households’ low-carbon behaviors: A study based on the Chinese household carbon generalized system of preferences

Reducing household carbon emissions is crucial to achieve carbon neutrality. The household carbon generalized system of preferences (HCGSP) has attracted widespread attention as a new solution to promote low-carbon behavior among Chinese households. However, the perception of CGSP among households and the underlying mechanisms that drive low-carbon behavior remain unclear, creating barriers to the wider adoption of the HCGSP in households. Taking the HCGSP pilot city of Shenzhen as the study area, this study explored the effects of families with different personality traits on their perception of HCGSP and low-carbon behaviors from the perspectives of perceptual psychology and behavioral science using the extended theory of planned behavior and the Big Five personality theory as the research framework. Findings suggest that attitudes generally influence families' low-carbon behavioral intentions. Perceived personal interest (PPI) and policy perception (PA) also affected low-carbon behavioral intentions significantly. We believe that attention should be paid to the influence of attitudes on households’ low-carbon behaviors and the development of universal HCGSP interventions based on attitudes, along with publicity and education activities related to PPI and PA, which will help promote low-carbon behaviors in households.

A Configurational Analysis of Factors Affecting Low-Carbon Behavior of College Students Based on the Motivation-Opp

A Configurational Analysis of Factors Affecting Low-Carbon Behavior of College Students Based on the Motivation-Opp