Behaviour change is critical to mobilising climate action, but it's time for a more creative approach

Last week the government launched its re-branded Unboxed Festival – a celebration of creativity in the UK running throughout 2022 – signalling an intention to revive culture post-Brexit and Covid-19. From the former oil rig-turned-sculpture the SEE MONSTER, to the Unexpected Gardens taking root across unused or forgotten land in Scotland, nature and the climate crisis appear to be central to this showcase. And rightly so.

Behaviour change is a crucial but often side-lined aspect of the transition to a net zero world. There is widespread understanding of the need to act and adapt when it comes to the climate crisis, but as it stands, there is a gap in understanding how to engender the widespread behaviour change needed. According to the Climate Change Committee’s 2021 progress report to parliament, 62% of measures needed to reach net zero require changes to public behaviour. The report notes there is a ‘limited window’ for changing behaviours, as we shift from one pattern of living and working, to another. Despite this, there is still no centrally led government strategy for shifting the public consciousness when it comes to driving pro-environmental behaviour. It is therefore critical we get ahead of the curve and willingly make changes on the scale that is required, and a more creative approach is needed.

The cultural sector could play a vital role in this change. Society is more adaptive that we give ourselves credit for and it’s important to make use of the tools available to help us re-learn and reshape our relationship with the planet. Beyond advertisements and messaging, the arts are an untapped resource in this area and could play a major role in helping us make these much-needed transitions. Across the sector there are three broad ways in which the arts can help shape pro-environmental behaviour.

The first, is through its ability to communicate information and ideas. Knowledge is fundamental to driving behaviour change but the often-apocalyptic narrative portrayed in the media and the heaviness of statistics can cause people to switch off, rather than engage. Policy change and political messaging are vital, but it is equally important citizens can understand what they are being told. For example, while 80% of people are concerned about climate change, only half are aware that their gas boiler produces emissions.

Using the arts as a tool to communicate could be an important factor in furthering our knowledge by intertwining necessary truths with positive action. As part of COP26, Museums for Climate Action created the Rethink/Reimagine/Mobilise project to explore how museums can play a role as trusted sources of information and become active enablers for change. Part of this included the concept for a Museum of Open Windows, where communities could lead research and action, record the lived experience of climate change and provide infrastructure to facilitate further engagement - a genuine positive learning experience blueprint. There are countless other examples of the arts acting as an educator, including The 1975’s single featuring Greta Thunberg, The V&A’s exhibition: Plastic: Remaking Our World, or even the recent blockbuster Don’t Look Up. These are more accessible and relatable to the average person’s everyday life. The unique ability of the cultural sector to cut across different mediums means it can appeal to different age groups, interests, and enable environmental justice and inclusivity to be placed at the heart of the narrative.

The second role the cultural sector can play in shifting our behaviour is by helping people to connect and build empathy with the natural environment. Research shows having an ‘emotional affinity’ with nature is a powerful predictor of whether a person will adopt pro-environmental behaviour. Yet large parts of society seem to have lost this emotional affinity or never developed a relationship with the natural world at all. This has led in-part to a profound disconnect between human and nature, particularly in the West, and is part of the reason we have reached this fragility of existence. The beauty of art in rectifying this is that it can tap into emotions and experiences and provoke a sense of knowing beyond the spoken, allowing us to become empaths for our world, in ways we seem to have forgotten.

The final way we can utilise the arts is by embedding them within ecologically sustainable development. The cultural sector is neither short of ambition nor innovative ideas when it comes to transitioning to net zero. Last year over 6,000 organisations, artists and individuals became signatories to Music Declares Emergency, including major names such as Billie Eilish, Jarvis Cocker, and Fat Boy Slim. Ed Sheeran pledged to ‘rewild’ as much of the UK as possible, Coldplay announced an ‘eco-friendly’ world tour, and labels such as Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group have all signed the Music Climate Pact, which require signatories to reach net zero by 2050. Some smaller labels have gone further, with Ninja Tune pledging to be carbon neutral by the end of 2021, and carbon negative beyond that. Massive attack even released a report with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change: a Roadmap for Low Carbon Live Music. While these solutions may not all be perfect, they demonstrate a willingness to lead by example and embed sustainable behaviours within the industry. As a sector so consistently exposed to the public, it is vital the government tap into this this willingness to engage.

Focusing on behaviour change isn’t new to government, the Behavioural Insights Team (formerly the Nudge Unit of the Cameron-era) have already been working on ‘green nudges’ such as smart energy meters and dietary changes like reducing meat consumption. Last year the Government’s Office for Science launched a new Foresight Project exploring the role societal practices and behaviour will play in emissions reductions, with a report due in late 2022. These are good first steps, but bolder action is required to genuinely shift the public consciousnesses when it comes to climate. Behaviour change could yet be critical to mobilising action, but perhaps its time the arts is given a bigger role to play.

 If you are interested in any of the above and would like to get in touch, please contact ebassam@seahorseenvironmental.co.uk

Tagged: arts, environmental crisis, environmental PR, culture, musicdeclares, nomusiconadeadplanet, creativeclimateaction, creative climate