[INFORMATIVE] Psychological Barriers to Environmental Action

Psychological Barriers to Environmental Action

By: Sameeha Siddiqui

Human-induced climate change was discovered 128 years ago in 1896 by Svante Arrhenius, and ever since, the world has watched it escalate. People have talked about it. Countless international treaties, global conferences, and rallies garnering millions can attest to that. The only thing that baffles me is why, if we can draw up to 20 million Americans for a climate march or 7.6 million participants across 185 cities for a global climate strike, can’t we convince our own friends, our own families, and more importantly, ourselves, to do anything? We can’t convince ourselves to even do so much as recycling a plastic bottle. Why?

If I ask you whether you think climate change is a growing crisis or not, you'll likely say yes but then struggle to recall the last time you did something about it. There are countless food and water shortages, strained healthcare systems, displaced communities, disease outbreaks, and collapsed economies. Read that again. This isn't our future anymore. This is the present that 40% of the world is living in and that the rest of us are about to.

If you need numbers to convince you of that, climate change causes 400,000 deaths per year. By 2030, that’ll be 700,000. 218 diseases (58%) are aggravated by climate change and just four of them are expected to cause an additional 250,000 deaths by the year 2050. Climate change drives food insecurity for 2.4 billion people globally and could lead to water scarcity affecting two-thirds of the world by 2025 (yes, next year). By 2030, climate change could push 100 million more people into extreme poverty. The 23.9 million people displaced by weather-related disasters in 2019 are nothing in comparison to the 2 billion that rising sea levels could render homeless by 2100. None of that matters though, does it? “Go green!” “'Think green!” “Save the Earth!” “Protect our planet!” They’re all different buzzwords, different statistics, but have expressed the same message for decades now. But who cares, right?

Why don’t we do anything? Why don’t you do anything?

Here’s a possible list of reasons:

1. Cognitive Dissonance: Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort you feel from holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes. In this case, you know climate change is a serious issue but still engage in behaviors that worsen it, like driving a gas-guzzling car. To ease the discomfort, you could change your habits, but instead, you downplay the issue, deny its severity, or justify your actions to avoid feeling guilty. Essentially, you know your actions are wrong, but you avoid change because it's uncomfortable.
2. Socially-construed silence: Socially-construed silence is like an unspoken rule that makes society collectively avoid certain topics to protect cohesion and prevent discomfort. You don't bring up climate change because it is seen as a divisive or uncomfortable subject, and you likely either don’t want to 1) kill the vibe or 2) be seen as problematic, extreme, or an alarmist. The problem is, it’s not just you, but rather everyone that does this, and the collective silence not only keeps people unaware and unmotivated to act, but also diminishes pressures on policymakers, delaying action that needs to be taken.
3. Psychological distance: You (delusionally) view climate change as a distant problem– something that will happen in the future, in other parts of the world, or to other people. This psychological distance, namely temporal, spatial, and social distance, reduces your urgency to act.
4. The role of identity: Your identity—how you see yourself and the groups you belong to—strongly influences your beliefs. You might resist acknowledging climate change to avoid discomfort or conflict. For example, if you value independence and dislike government control, accepting climate change might feel like accepting regulations that threaten your freedom. If your lifestyle contributes to climate change, such as working in non-eco-friendly jobs or driving a large truck, accepting it might feel like an attack on how you live. Additionally, if your social group denies climate change, you might do the same to fit in and preserve your place with them.
5. Perceived inefficacy: You feel that your actions are too small to have a significant impact on global environmental issues. This feeling of powerlessness discourages you from taking any action at all. As the quote goes, however, 'I’m just one person, what can I do?'...said 8 billion people.

This is not an exhaustive list but rather a selection of reasons. It could also be that you believe technology or future innovations will solve these problems without your needing to change (optimism bias— which can make you complacent), or you perceive environmental action to require great sacrifice in lifestyle and finances, and God forbid even the tiniest inconvenience. Or maybe you're just confused because environmental problems can be multifaceted and you don't know what to do, and if it will be effective. This confusion is definitely reinforced if you distrust governments, organisations, and scientists, and so doubt the validity of the issue and proposed solutions. Perhaps the potential severity of climate change appears overwhelming and you downplay or deny it to avoid fear and distress. Although I mentioned it, I didn't elaborate on social and cultural norms as much as I probably should have.

Whatever it may be, recognizing the barriers to environmental action is the first step towards it. The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it (– Robert Swan). I’m not asking much, but next time, throw your trash in a recycling bin, walk short distances, buy just one reusable bottle, and use a reusable bag for your shopping. And if you can, speak up, donate to environmental causes, support eco-friendly brands, and avoid fast fashion. Whatever you choose to do, do it now because the planet cannot wait any longer.

And if anyone ever says, "You’re just one person, what difference does it make?", tell them Emma Watson said, "You don’t have to be a full-on activist to make a difference. Every small action counts, and together we can make a big impact."

Act and act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. (– William James)


Citations
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Global Climate Strike. "7 Million People Demand Action After Week of Climate Strikes." *Global Climate Strike*, https://globalclimatestrike.net/7-million-people-demand-action-after-week-of-climate-strikes/. Accessed 23 Aug. 2024.

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Cornell University. "Rising Seas Could Result in 2 Billion Refugees by 2100." *Cornell News*, https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/06/rising-seas-could-result-2-billion-refugees-2100. Accessed 23 Aug. 2024.