The everyday challenges of Pro-environmental practices

TY - JOUR

T1 - The everyday challenges of Pro-environmental practices

AU - Berthou, Sara Kristine Gløjmar

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Much research and policy planning aimed at climate change mitigation currently focuses on individual behavioural change as a means to reduce carbon emissions. An often used approach in order to achieve this is the attempt to influence behaviour through transfers of knowledge and information. However, awareness of climate change problems and intentions to live pro-environmentally friendly do not always translate into actual changed practice. In this sense, there is often a discrepancy between attitude and actual behaviour. This article is an in-depth empirical investigation of the logics guiding everyday pro-environmental practices, the aim was to examine the challenges experienced in this regard. Based on visits to households in Copenhagen, four major challenges are identified and discussed. The paper argues that everyday life, as the starting point of individual pro-environmental practices, is characterised by a complexity which people have to navigate, and thus that pro-environmental practices should not be seen as one demarcated field, but as interlinked with other practices in everyday life.

AB - Much research and policy planning aimed at climate change mitigation currently focuses on individual behavioural change as a means to reduce carbon emissions. An often used approach in order to achieve this is the attempt to influence behaviour through transfers of knowledge and information. However, awareness of climate change problems and intentions to live pro-environmentally friendly do not always translate into actual changed practice. In this sense, there is often a discrepancy between attitude and actual behaviour. This article is an in-depth empirical investigation of the logics guiding everyday pro-environmental practices, the aim was to examine the challenges experienced in this regard. Based on visits to households in Copenhagen, four major challenges are identified and discussed. The paper argues that everyday life, as the starting point of individual pro-environmental practices, is characterised by a complexity which people have to navigate, and thus that pro-environmental practices should not be seen as one demarcated field, but as interlinked with other practices in everyday life.

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1602-2297

VL - 12

SP - 53

EP - 68

JO - Journal of Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies

JF - Journal of Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies

IS - 1

ER -