Going Green Is Good for You: Why We Need to Change the Way We Think about Pro-environmental Behavior

Abstract

ABSTRACT Awareness and concern about climate change are widespread. But rates of pro-environmental behavior are low. This is partly due to the way in which pro-environmental behavior is framed – as a sacrifice or burden that individuals bear for the planet and future generations. This framing elicits well-known cognitive biases, discouraging what we should be encouraging. We should abandon the self-sacrifice framing, and instead frame pro-environmental behavior as intrinsically desirable. There is a large body of evidence that, around the world, people who are living more environmentally lifestyles are happier than those not doing so. This is the message we should be spreading.