“The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change.” - Greta Thunberg

Climate change is upon us. After decades of dragging our feet in the face of this threat, with constantly rising emissions as a result, we are now in the decade where emissions instead must start decreasing.

Luckily, the awareness about the need for a swift and just transformation is steadily growing. Following the Paris Agreement in 2015, the stage is set for all countries of the world to move forward together. And that project requires all hands on deck.

In the European Union, the ambition to become climate neutral by 2050 and reach at least 55% emission cuts by 2030 requires a fundamental and rapid change in the way we live. It requires citizens to take responsibility and make fundamental changes in policies and economies as well. Pathways to reach this goal must be fair, effective, inclusive and fully backed by citizens from all walks of life.

Changing climate - changing lifestyles.

Here is where Climate Campaigners comes in. This project aims to be the mechanism for citizen-driven change in a way that is fully immersed in behavioural research and integrated with local, national and EU level policy goals.

The two higher-order objectives of Climate Campaigners are: 1. providing the best possible and highly impactful scientific support to designing mitigation pathways and policies and 2. creating immediate engagement of citizens in climate actions and supporting them in adopting a more climate-friendly lifestyle.

Our definition of lifestyles shapes the research agenda: a series of choices and the habits of a person regarding how to live and behave, according to the individual’s intentions and values, available opportunities, social and structural context, and perceived incentives. Hence, the project follows a holistic view on lifestyles, from daily routines to long-term investments and one-time choices (e.g. pension funds, electric vehicles). This definition limits a climate-friendly lifestyle not only to the things we do and consume, but includes the support (or at least acceptance) of policies with potentially negative impact on someone’s own comfort level, financial matters, freedom of choice, etc.

In short: citizens working together have the power to drive the change we need to see. A credible solution to the climate crisis must harness that power. With the Climate Campaigners project, we aim to contribute to that solution.

Lighthouse Cities