2024 had a lot of good moments. Solar power continued rising worldwide. Scientists discovered a humungous, healthy coral in the Pacific Ocean. Indigenous Peoples across the globe spearheaded environmental victories, from dam removals to halting dangerous mines.
And, 2024 was marked by significant challenges. From setbacks at international biodiversity and climate meetings to global elections that put environmental progress at risk, it’s clear that we face ever more demanding challenges as we enter the second half of the decade.
Despite these challenges, we have also seen behavioral science emerge as a force for positive conservation and climate change. Behavioral insights are being applied across the environmental spectrum, from international plastic reduction agreements to local efforts to end illegal wildlife trafficking.
As we enter 2025, here are five key lessons from 2024 that can guide our work moving forward:
1. There’s no one-size-fits-all behavioral solution to environmental challenges.
A single behavioral solution for all environmental challenges would be ideal – but the reality is far more complex. A global study by Vlasceanu et al. (2024) for Science Advances tested 11 interventions across 63 countries with nearly 60,000 participants. The study revealed significant variations in effectiveness based on audience characteristics, emphasizing that tailoring strategies to specific groups and situations is crucial for success.
For example, fear-inducing messaging improved information-sharing but reduced tree-planting and backfired among skeptics. The research team created a web tool to aid localized analysis and emphasized the need to explore more representative and effortful behaviors. Their findings underscore the need to combine community-driven behavioral interventions with systemic policy changes for meaningful climate action. Read more here.
2. Storytelling and strong science communication are critical tools.
Climate storytelling stood out in 2024 as a powerful way to humanize faraway and “invisible” environmental issues from Arctic ice melting to coral bleaching. Stories weave together fact and emotion, aligning with values to foster meaningful change. They connect individual experiences to the broader reality of climate change, making the issue feel more tangible and immediate.
Effective storytelling, however, is strategic. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication recommends making stories personal, connecting lived experiences to climate change, amplifying diverse voices, and highlighting hope and calls to action. Learn how to craft impactful stories.
3. Dis- and misinformation are here to stay.
Explaining and disseminating climate science is already hard enough without the added obstacle of dis- and misinformation that get in the way of pro-environmental action. This Guardian article outlines five major disinformation tactics the fossil fuel industry employed to mislead the public about climate change:
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- Attacking climate scientists and environmentalists to undermine public trust.
- Promoting unviable solutions, like carbon capture, to delay meaningful action.
- Shifting blame to individuals rather than systemic industry responsibility.
- Highlighting the costs of climate action, often using skewed economic models that ignore the escalating costs of inaction.
- Manipulating language to rebrand fossil fuels as “clean” or “natural.”
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Each tactic creates sludge that impedes meaningful behavioral change, and these intentional obstacles are not unique to the fossil fuel industry. As misinformation persists in 2025, how do we counteract it effectively without burning out? Explore strategies to combat misinformation.
4. Behavioral science works. Now, it’s time to scale.
Behavioral science works when targeted and aligned with audience values. The next challenge is scaling these interventions. International Institute for Sustainable Development and Rare’s Kate Mannle and Philipe Bujold set out to answer this question. The team used a case study of ecosystem-based adaptation in Fiji to understand why “we ignore the factors that drive how, when, and why people make decisions and take action when designing and implementing adaptation solutions” (Dekens, Bujold, & Mannle, 2024).
Though the team focused on a specific environmental niche and audience in Fiji, their findings affirmed the importance of understanding the factors that drive decision-making. While local adoption of solutions is beneficial, it fails to address systemic issues like deforestation or emissions. Therefore, effective climate adaptation requires community-level behavioral change and broader systemic approaches involving coordinated efforts among various actors across scales. Dive deeper into scaling solutions.
5. Behavioral science can empower marginalized communities – when aligned with their values.
Marginalized communities contribute the least to global issues like climate change but face its harshest impacts. We’ve also seen an outsized positive impact from these communities who commit to behavioral changes in the spirit of biodiversity and cultural conservation. Beyond conservation, “…sustainable management of natural resources can reduce poverty and enhance shared prosperity at the local level” (World Bank Group).
Various resources ensure that behavioral interventions are effective and in accordance with values and belief systems. For example, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and the World Bank Group developed a toolkit designed to empower women in sustainable forestry. This resource provides practice methods for applying behavioral science to conservation while supporting local livelihoods. Access the toolkit here.
These five lessons highlight some of the top-read articles from our 2024 Behavior Beat editions. Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know at behavior@rare.org.
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