More gasoline than 20 years ago
Quebecers take more planes, collectively consume more gasoline and buy more trucks and SUVs than 20 years ago, when the urgency to tackle the climate crisis has become impossible to ignore. How to explain this apparent contradiction? Laura Pasca García, professor in the department of social psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid and co-author of a recent study on the issue, notes that a subtle mechanism of self-justification is at work. “People know that the impact [de leurs comportements] on the environment is more important than what is acceptable, but they feel that the impact of other people’s behavior is even worse, and that lessens their own feelings of guilt about their choices, she says. In other words, in our mind we behave badly, but, compared to others, we do not behave so badly. ”
Guilt
To arrive at these conclusions, Mme Pasca García and co-author Lucía Poggio asked a group of 198 participants to complete a questionnaire, representative of the Spanish population. Respondents were asked to answer questions about their own impact on the climate as well as that of other members of society. Collectively, respondents attributed a higher impact to the behaviors of others than to their own behaviors. They also established the threshold for behaviors deemed acceptable, a threshold that they themselves exceeded. “It is in the gap between acceptable behaviors and the behaviors reported by people that this feeling of guilt is found,” write the researchers in their study entitled Biased Perception of the Environmental Impact of Everyday Behaviors (which can be translated by Subjective perception of the effect on the environment of daily behavior).
No “mask”
One of the difficulties inherent in the fight against climate change is that there are no clear and objective instructions on how to behave in order to fight it on an individual basis, notes Mme Pasca García. “For example, when it comes to COVID-19, we know that with masks and physical distancing we can prevent contagion. But there is no mask to avoid global warming. On the one hand, we need to change behavior in most areas of our life, so the effort required is often overwhelming, she notes. “On the other hand, we tend to justify our choices in order to protect the image we have of ourselves. We tell ourselves that our good behaviors make up for our bad ones, even when they don’t. ”
Green vehicles
The researcher notes that larger vehicles like SUVs and trucks are increasingly popular, but many buyers are opting for hybrid versions. “We have the self-justification of buying a hybrid vehicle to reduce guilt [suscitée par le fait] to buy a gasoline vehicle. Perhaps one of the consequences of this choice is to make people believe that driving a gasoline vehicle is not that bad, she says. “Yet studies show that drivers of so-called green vehicles use them more than drivers of conventional vehicles. ”
False beliefs
How to overcome this psychological obstacle and move from thoughts to actions? Mme Pasca García notes that knowing that our brains automatically seek to minimize our own impact is already a breakthrough. “For concerns about climate change to lead to concrete changes in our way of life, it would be necessary to remove all false beliefs and these justifications, which act as barriers to change. Likewise, it would be desirable, on a larger scale, to facilitate the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors rather than harmful ones. ”
How to minimize its role in the climate crisis?
- Avoid driving a sport utility vehicle (SUV), which emits nearly twice as much CO2 than a recent family car capable of accommodating the same number of passengers. Rising popularity of SUVs is the second leading cause of rising CO emissions2 around the world over the past decade, according to the International Energy Agency.
- In the event of a move, choose a home located within 30 minutes of walking, cycling or public transport from our place of work.
- Choose appliances that consume less energy. New refrigerators use 40% less electricity than those produced just 10 years ago.
- Make a habit of eating fruits and vegetables in season. Use composting services when available – this helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions at landfills.
Sources: International Energy Agency and the David Suzuki Foundation