Final PhD seminar – Sarah Boddington ‘The many different social worlds of climate mitigation: How do people navigate climate change?’

Abstract 

In Australia, for many years, climate mitigation was a socio-political flash-point. Now there is increasing political and social consensus on the need for climate mitigation, so Australia faces the practical challenge of how to accelerate change. This thesis examines the social complexities of how climate mitigation actions fit into people’s everyday lives, with a focus on the phase-out of higher carbon practices, like gas appliances and petrol cars, and support for climate policy. It asks: Do people recognise these changes as climate action, and does that influence adoption? What ongoing impacts stem from the legacy of socio-political conflict? What social factors shape responses? These questions are explored through four studies: gas cooktop phase-out in groups in the ACT; masculinity and identity and electric vehicle perceptions; building climate support in stereotypically ‘opposed’ constituencies; and identifying social factors that shape responses to lower carbon practices.

Through mixed methods I find: the social factors affecting people’s responses vary by practice and context; some lower carbon practices aren’t seen primarily as climate actions; social conventions and identity can drive some practices more than climate concern; and in-group leaders use innovative strategies to reshape climate action views. These findings reveal that successful climate mitigation requires engaging with social dynamics that shape everyday decisions in peoples’ everyday lives, offering insights for policy design.

Bio 

Sarah Boddington is a PhD candidate at the Crawford School of Public Policy, researching the social dynamics of lower carbon transitions. She is particularly interested in social identity and social practices and how they change. She has published in npj Climate Action, Energy Research and Social Science and Earth System Governance. She has a Masters of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development and has 15+ years of experience in international development with DFAT and NGOs, including working on climate adaptation in the Pacific. She was awarded an Order of Australia medal for her work responding to the 2015 Nepal earthquakes.