WORLDRESOURCESINSTITUTEWORKING PAPERThe effective impact of behavioral shiftsin energy,transport,and foodA global quantitative synthesis of the greenhouse gas emission reductionpotential of behavioral changes in the transportation,energy,and food sectorsGordon Kraft-Todd,Mindy Hernandez,and Jordana CompostoHighlightsCONTENTSMeeting global climate targets requires widespread shifts in human behav-Executive summary.........................2ior.Research to date has emphasized individual-level behavior change.Introduction....3To quantify the achievable emissions reductions through individualMethodology...........8behavior change,this study combines research on the projected emissionsResults.........impact of key behaviors with data on the feasibility of changing thoseGeneral discussion............24behaviors through behavioral interventions.Areas for future research..................27Behavioral interventions demonstrate modest but consistent suc-Conclusion.................27cess,increasing target behaviors by 10 percentage points compared toAppendices A-L...................28control groups.Endnotes..47Intervention design matters:analysis of intervention methods reveals thatReferences...................49choice architecture and commitment devices are the most impactful tools,Acknowledgments.........................56while information-based approaches (e.g,carbon footprint calculators)areAbout the authors.......................56among the least.While combined behavioral changes could theoretically offset all theaverage global citizen's per capita emissions,real world,individual-levelfindings,and recommendations.They are circulated tointerventions typically achieve only 10%of that-highlighting the need forboth individual actions and systemic supports.Four "Priority Shifts"emerge as highest-impact behaviors:Suggested Citation:Kraft-Todd,G.M.Hemandez,Reducing gas-powered vehicle useDecreasing air travelLowering residential fossil fuel consumptionReducing animal product consumptionwiwp.21.00151.The impact difference between behaviors is massive-eliminating car usereduces emissions 78 times more effectively than composting.Realizing the emissions reduction possible will require focusing on PriorityShifts,effective tools and policy,and industry support.WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTEWORKING PAPER Version 10 April 2025 1Executive summaryBackgroundAchieving the necessary greenhouse gas(GHG)emissionsUsing a harmonized categorization system,we combinereductions to avoid the most destructive effects ofclimatedata on emissions reductions and real-world interventionschange depends on shifting behaviors (IPCC 2014;O'Rourke(representing over 1.3 million individuals).The result is anand Lollo 2015;Creutzig et al.2018).Modem climate changeevidence-based assessment of which individual behavior shiftsis largely driven by GHG-emitting human behavior(Masson-offer the greatest emissions reduction potential when accountingDelmotte et al.2021),especially in the energy,food,andfor both theoretical potential and real-world feasibility.transport sectors.Therefore,changing behavior-at both anindividual and systems level-is key to reducing emissions andSpecifically,we focus on behavior shifts in the energy,trans-preserving human society and natural systems.portation,and food sectors and explore the following questions:Systems-and individual-level actions are needed to unlockWhat behaviors can most significantly lower GHGthe full potential ofbehavior change.Comprehensive behavioremissions,and to what extent?shifts that include technological advancements,policies,andWhich interventions and specific tools(e.g.,defaults,industry practices could reduce global GHG emissions by 40-70incentives,choice architecture)have demonstrably andpercent by 2050(IPCC 2022).This estimate encompasses botheffectively changed these behaviors,and to what extent?systemic changes(building charging infrastructure for electricvehicles)and individual-level changes(deciding to trade in aWhat is the difference between the projected and effectivegas-powered car for an electric one).The individual "behavioralemissions impact of key behavior changes?wedge"-the portion achievable through individual changesalone-is an important but small slice of this reduction poten-Key findingstial.Individual behavior changes in energy,transportation,andBehavioral interventions show consistent but modest effects,food choices could reduce global emissions by 34 percent(IPCCtypically improving target behaviors by 10 percentage points2022).Therefore,reaching our climate goals will require concur-compared to controls.Choice architecture and commitment-rent progress from individuals,industry,and policymakers.based approaches emerge as particularly promising tools,whileGlobal emissions are deeply unequal.High emitters have anpopular interventions like providing enhanced informationethical and practical responsibility to change the behaviors(carbon calculators)show lower impact.that drive global emissions.Globally,the wealthiest 10 percentWe identify four Priority Shifts that are particularly impactful.produce nearly half of all emissions,while the bottom 50 percentWe note that these are especially relevant for higher-income,contribute only a tenth.To meet climate goals,high emittershigher-consuming populations.must take the lead.And effective solutions need to match localrealities:currently,home solar works for well-off homeownersDecreasing gas-powered car usewho have the space and financial resources to invest,but not foreveryone.To stay on track for Paris targets,the wealthiest mustDecreasing air travelmake deep cuts,while low-income populations may need toDecreasing home fossil fuel use through structural changesincrease emissions to meet basic development goals.(e.g.,solar adoption,comprehensive renovations)Decreasing consumption of animal-based proteinsAbout this working paperThis working paper makes a unique contribution to theOn the other hand,some common "green"behaviors like com-literature by bridging two previously disconnected researchposting,while valuable,have a minimal effect on emissions.Wedomains.Prior research has either estimated the theoreticalrefer to these remaining shifts as Supplementary Shifts:emissions savings from behavior changes or evaluated the impactof behavioral interventions in isolation.This paper combinesOther food behaviors (including decreasing food wasteand the consumption of packaged/processed food,these two literatures to calculate an"effective impact"metric-quantifying the actual emissions reductions that can realisticallyand composting)be achieved through interventions aimed at individual-levelbehavior change.