Kristian Steensen Nielsen @kristiansn89 Twitter profile | Pikagi

Pikagi

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

@kristiansn89

4,950

Followers

2,838

Following

115

Media

2,756

Statuses

Assistant Professor @cbssust @CBScph | Interested in behavior change, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity conservation

Copenhagen, Denmark

https://t.co/A40SnXLWoF

Joined September 2014

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

Pinned Tweet

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

There is inequality in who causes climate change, who experiences its consequences, and who can fix it. As we show in @NatureEnergyJn , people with high socioeconomic status disproportionately affect the success or failure of climate mitigation. A thread.

Tweet card media

The role of high-socioeconomic-status people in locking in or rapidly reducing energy-driven...

Nature Energy - High-socioeconomic-status individuals have a disproportionate effect on greenhouse gas emissions as consumers and through four other key roles they play in society. This Perspective...

24

377

948

Last Seen Profiles

@Fatsheep6021

@WhiteHatStudios

@barnesmorgan

@Y8Tk2

@hitomin_nanoda

@RicarditoAnaya

@CHINEN_hbb

@yuri_com_25

@boseaglex3

@bokeplokalmalam

@mensesthekyujin

@good4uabcdefu

@SauaschM

@GentanKiss

@SauquePuig

@cryptoman6789

@AndreaK2945

@pickledmelon

@jsaddi99

@dr_y38ob

@Tina_sub103

@TengKX8

@pratyushbuddiga

@apalmerdc

@JayZito

@bokeplokalmalam

@kallagha

@nikocoliterus

@DylanABradfield

@V1b3oSZWghioYp5

@BasedDimo

@psikosum

@xLET_IT_RIPx

@JuanMorenoMx

@annyB85383901

@hgreen812123

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Arguments against individual climate action are posted at a never-ending pace. Here’s a 🧵from a behavioral scientist on why individual behavior change is in fact critical for tackling the climate crisis. #individualANDsystemchange

83

751

2K

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Individual climate action is crucial for speeding up climate change mitigation. Unfortunately, people too often equate individual action with consumer behavior, but there are many other opportunities for taking impactful action. Here's a 🧵with some suggestions. #ClimateActionNow

32

288

890

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

6 months

🚨It's finally out!!🥳 In @NatureClimate , we present a highly ambitious vision for how to realize the full potential of behavioral science for climate change mitigation🌍 It's been quite the journey, so I'm beyond excited to tell you about it🧵

Tweet card media

Realizing the full potential of behavioural science for climate change mitigation

Nature Climate Change - Behavioural science offers valuable insights for mitigating climate change, but existing work focuses mostly on consumption and lacks coordination across disciplines. In...

18

262

800

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

11 months

Discourses of #climate delay are everywhere within academia! It's truly astonishing how quickly privileged people resort to #whataboutism when asked to actually do something to address the #ClimateCrisis

Tweet media one

27

214

558

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

. @netflix has created a new guide with climate actions to accompany #DontLookUp . I served as an advisor alongside much more prominent scholars like @jrockstrom @KHayhoe @MichaelEMann @GlobalEcoGuy @DoctorVive . Netflix did a good job! A short 🧵 why.

11

163

490

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Hugely excited to share our new paper in @naturesustainab . We found a profound gap between people's pro-environmental motivations and their clothing-related climate impact. This has unsettling implications for research on pro-environmental behavior. A 🧵

Tweet media one

13

112

431

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

So how about we start acknowledging that both individual and systemic changes are pivotal and not mutually exclusive!🤞Time is short so let's applaud all efforts that help make real change happen! 🌍

9

36

369

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

If someone ever tells you that the world is on track to avoid catastrophic climate change, show them this graph from the new @IPCC_CH synthesis report.

Tweet media one

15

160

353

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Not a word about the need for more social science research on climate change mitigation in this editorial from @Nature . As always we just need more innovation and new technologies... #ClimateActionNow

14

90

325

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

To what extent does individualizing climate change undermine the likelihood of implementing systemic solutions? 🌎This is a complex topic, but here's a🧵with some thoughts.

10

119

300

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

The start of a full two-day train ride from Cambridge to Siciliy for #ICEP2021 . Excited to visit Siciliy and connect with fellow environmental psychologists, but we need to select conference locations that don’t incentivize flying! #lowcarbontravel

Tweet media one

14

13

290

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

In fact, IMO behavior change represents an under-utilized mitigation strategy. For example, when was the last time you heard policymakers encourage their constituents to limit flying or meat consumption or implemented policies to make this happen? 🤔

10

19

279

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Consumer action is also often too easily dismissed. Reducing air travel, avoiding red meat, electrifying your home, and shifting to public transport certainly make a difference. Even with system change, this will all have to happen so why delay the change?

5

45

278

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Another study underscoring the immense climate mitigation potential of demand-side solutions (without harming wellbeing)! We need to mobilize around such solutions and pressure decision-makers into implementing them. @j_r_barrett @JKSteinberger @efesce

Tweet media one

10

85

276

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

4 months

**Climate change is extremely unequal** - There is inequality in who causes it - There is inequality in who experiences the worst consequences - There is inequality in who influences mitigation (or the lack thereof) You cannot tackle climate change without tackling inequality!

9

65

274

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

No response yet from @Nature so I'll share our reply to their recent editorial. Reply led by @efesce with @tdietzvt , @michaelvandenb6 , @rlshwom & Paul Stern. Thanks to @JKSteinberger for input. Social science is key to climate mitigation! Please share!

Social Science is key to effective climate change mitigation: A reply to Nature editorial

In your editorial „How researchers can help fight climate change in 2022 and beyond” you rightly emphasize the value of emerging energy supply and end-use technologies for achieving much needed...

16

86

263

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

When discussing individual action, we have to also acknowledge the inequality in who has the greatest potential to make an impact. Generally, this potential increases with socioeconomic status as outlined in my work with @KA_Nicholas @efesce @tdietzvt

Tweet card media

The role of high-socioeconomic-status people in locking in or rapidly reducing energy-driven...

Nature Energy - High-socioeconomic-status individuals have a disproportionate effect on greenhouse gas emissions as consumers and through four other key roles they play in society. This Perspective...

2

32

241

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

However, this doesn’t mean that individual behavior changes are irrelevant or infeasible within the current system. The actions and support of individuals are critical for achieving, maintaining, and adapting to systemic changes.

Tweet card media

(PDF) How Psychology Can Help Limit Climate Change

PDF | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has encouraged psychologists to become part of the integrated scientific effort to support... | Find, read and cite all the research you...

www.researchgate.net

1

17

244

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

KEY TAKEAWAY: Achieving the transformative changes needed is an immense task that requires the support and engagement of individuals who will not only have to fundamentally change their activities/behavior but also support, accept, and adapt to transformative initiatives...

3

27

236

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

First, this is not entirely true. But even if true, the concept can still have scientific and practical value. For example, it’s been used to point out the incredible inequality in who contributes to causing climate change. @lucas_chancel @JKSteinberger

Tweet card media

Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019

Nature Sustainability - Understanding the connection between economic inequality and climate change requires rich and reliable data. This study combines recently assembled data on income and wealth...

5

11

231

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

We can act in many other roles, including as citizens, investors, participants in organizations, community members. @Netflix created some science-based recommendations for how to get involved and which actions to prioritize across roles. @LeoDiCaprio

5

23

234

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

5 months

I’m so bloody frustrated with smart and influential people only talking about technological solutions to the climate crisis! 😖 WE NEED DEMAND-SIDE SOLUTIONS TOO! And hey, they may actually work now and not potentially maybe in 20 years.

37

32

216

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

For example, you can shift your investments to sustainable projects, promote climate initiatives at work or in your local community, or participate in social movements to demand political or organizational change. All these actions can help diffuse change at scale.

5

16

206

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

I don't know who needs to hear this, but we should be forever grateful for rockstars like @JKSteinberger , @amywestervelt & @DoctorVive continuing to deal with and forcefully stand up to fossil fuel nutjobs who are dead-set on climate destruction!🙏

5

18

207

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

🚨 Career news 🚨 I'm thrilled to share that I'll join @cbssust at @CBScph as an Assistant Professor (tenure track) in the new year🥳 I'm especially grateful for @Carlsbergfondet awarding me a Reintegration Fellowship, which made this possible. (1/3)

26

8

207

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

7 months

The new megastudy on climate action is a remarkable team achievement, offering important insights for behavioral climate research👏 Sadly, its mixed results have led some to dismiss behavior change and behavioral science🤔 Here's why this is a mistake🧵

Tweet card media

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Climate interventions increase beliefs, policy support, and willingness to share information but not higher effort action.

www.science.org

5

63

207

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

There are many reasons why people might dismiss individual actions. One reason is that it shifts attention away from one’s own (typically high) emissions, which alleviates feeling bad about it. This can be legitimate though when behavior change is too difficult or costly.

1

6

186

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

This is not to say that the fossil fuel industry doesn’t want to individualize the problem, which is certainly problematic (and their actions have been and continue to be criminal). The work of @NaomiOreskes , @GeoffreySupran , @BenFranta and others beautifully shows this.

2

6

187

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Today is my first day as assistant professor at @cbssust 🤩 Feels great being back with old colleagues and look forward to all the exciting behavioral science work ahead around climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation! 🌳🌍

Tweet media one

13

3

178

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

The transformative changes needed to tackle the climate crisis are happening far too slowly. We argue in @NatureClimate that a more serious scientific and practical treatment of feasibility is long overdue. A summary🧵. Free link:

6

75

180

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Another related reason reflects a constrained conceptualization of individual action. Too often individual behavior change is equated with what we do as consumers. But this unnecessarily constrains what people can do to help speed up climate mitigation.

2

10

172

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

What if we stopped dismissing the value of individual climate action? 🙏 Instead, we could mention how it could indeed be pretty important, especially when done by wealthier people — who coincidentally also have greater responsibility and opportunities for impactful action!

16

30

157

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

A terrific new study by @mmbuchs , @diana_nbd et al. shows the importance of capping the ‘luxury’ energy use of the wealthy in the EU to meet climate targets. @NiranjanAjit wrote a lovely accompanying article with comments from @efesce and myself.

Tweet card media

Europe should cap energy use of richest to stay within carbon budget, study says

Limiting demand of top 20% saves seven times greenhouse gases required to meet needs of bottom 20%, researchers find

www.theguardian.com

7

57

154

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Two important points before I start: 1. The impact potential of behavioral changes generally scales with socioeconomic status. 2. Changes to consumer behavior are still critically important. We need to change how we transport ourselves🚲, what we eat🥦, and how we live🏘️.

1

8

154

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

3⃣Shift investments. If you have investments or a pension, chances are you're currently financing climate destruction by supporting fossil fuel companies. Shift your money away from such institutions and campaign for #divestment in universities, schools, and businesses.

4

9

152

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

6 months

🚨Incredibly excited to share our new *preprint* on perceptions of✨carbon footprint inequality✨ Across four countries 🇩🇰🇮🇳🇳🇬🇺🇸, our results reveal a widespread underestimation of within-country carbon footprint inequality, including among the wealthy🧵

Underestimation of personal carbon footprint inequality in four socio-economically diverse countries

Extensive research highlights global and within-country inequality in personal carbon footprints. However, the extent to which people are aware of this inequality remains unclear. This study examined...

5

65

154

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Biodiversity loss poses existential threats for humankind. Behavioral changes are crucial to reversing these threats yet rarely studied by behavioral scientists. My amazing co-authors and I aim to change this with our new Perspective in @NatureHumBehav

Tweet card media

Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science

Nature Human Behaviour - Nielsen et al. argue for more involvement of behavioural scientists in addressing the challenge of globally increasing biodiversity loss, identifying important gaps in...

8

76

152

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

5 months

📢In the latest issue of @NatureClimate , we present an ambitious vision for improving the contribution of behavioral science for climate change mitigation🌟🌍 We offer six actionable recommendations for research on individual climate behavior🌱💡

Tweet card media

Realizing the full potential of behavioural science for climate change mitigation

Nature Climate Change - Behavioural science offers valuable insights for mitigating climate change, but existing work focuses mostly on consumption and lacks coordination across disciplines. In...

4

49

152

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

I strongly encourage everyone to read the new @IPCC_CH report on mitigation! I'm especially excited about the chapter on demand, services and social aspects of mitigation included for the first time and written by superstars like @efesce & @JKSteinberger .

4

29

149

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

1⃣As citizens, voting can be a powerful climate action. In democratic countries, we have the power to influence policymaking. We can also make climate a leading political issue through social mobilization and lobbying. Hold representatives accountable for their climate votes🗳️

2

9

149

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

4⃣Act within organizations. Whether at work, play, or study, advocate for decarbonizing industries and supply chains. Drive policies that align with climate goals. Every job can contribute to climate action. Let's make every organization a driver of change. #ClimateActionAtWork

2

7

141

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Let’s begin by disarming the most common argument against individual action: that the carbon footprint was created by the fossil fuel industry.

2

4

142

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Wholeheartedly agree with this response by @lwhitmarsh & @AgnesKreil . Scientists cannot continue to fly around the world for two-day conferences in a climate crisis. We should lead by example and confront our privileged and carbon-intensive work life.

4

34

132

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Your daily reminder that behavioral changes are highly important for mitigating climate change🌎 What this DOESN'T mean: ❌ They will solve the problem alone ❌ They will happen without policy intervention ❌ They will undermine wellbeing ❌ Systemic changes aren't necessary

5

18

126

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

2⃣Utilize #social influence. We all have the power to influence those around us through our words and actions. Use this influence to promote climate-friendly aspirations and norms within your networks and communities. We can also share practical tips about how to change behavior.

1

6

133

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

8 months

I’m so tired of never-ending claims that we can solve #climate change without behavior changes. This is just wrong. Even in an techno-optimistic future, people will still need to adopt new technologies and learn how to use them effectively. This involves behavior changes! (1/2)

13

28

132

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

As always @KevinClimate sees through the smoke and mirrors! We cannot achieve deep mitigation without steep reductions in demand.

Tweet card media

IPCC’s conservative nature masks true scale of action needed to avert catastrophic climate change

Climate models embed colonial attitudes and massive inequality.

theconversation.com

8

47

125

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

While we may not have time or be able to take action(s) in all these roles, we can prioritize the actions that can deliver the greatest climate benefits, either personally or for other people/communities/organizations. Attention to actions' potential climate impact is key here!

2

7

123

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

🌎One of the most important research topics in #EnvironmentalPsychology is the link between pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and subjective wellbeing. Understanding and addressing this link will be crucial for realizing behavioral changes and adopting ambitious policies.🧵

3

27

121

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

11 months

In @naturesustainab , we showed a profound gap between people's pro-environmental motivations and their clothing-related #climate impact. However, IMO our key finding was how the predictiveness of psychological factors varied across behavioral measures🧵

Tweet media one

6

25

124

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Fantastic new initiative by students at @Cambridge_Uni . While this doesn't apply to the entire university yet(!), it sends an important signal that hopefully inspires other universities to follow suit. @eegarnett89 @EstherPapies @EJMilnerGulland @CBScph

Tweet card media

Cambridge University students vote for completely vegan menus

Union will hold talks with catering services about removing all animal products from cafes and canteens

www.theguardian.com

2

20

117

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Incredible we have to revisit this discussion again. No, calling for individual action by the privileged is not a deflection strategy that serves big oil, in opposition to achieving systemic change, or a key cause of climate anxiety!

Tweet card media

The carbon footprint fixation is getting out of hand

Voluntary climate initiatives may distract from what is really needed

3

20

114

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Most behavioral scientists studying pro-environmental behavior almost only focus on climate change. But we mustn't forget the biodiversity crisis! Last year, we published this paper to guide behavioral scientists toward impactful biodiversity research.

Tweet card media

Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science

Nature Human Behaviour - Nielsen et al. argue for more involvement of behavioural scientists in addressing the challenge of globally increasing biodiversity loss, identifying important gaps in...

2

28

115

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

📢New blog from @KA_Nicholas and me on science communication using our @NatureEnergyJnl paper as a case study. Universities like when research has a societal impact, yet they rarely support and reward the time-intensive work required. @SpringerNature

10

35

105

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

🚨 Check out our new article in @JEnvPsych calling for more behavior-focused research in environmental psychology (and beyond). Brilliantly led by Twitter-less Florian Lange with @SeBerger_Lab @hennlalaura @AsparksPolSci and other great folks involved.

3

27

106

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

🚨New pre-print🚨We studied perceived behavioral plasticity, behavioral performance, and climate policy support across an international sample (N=7,349). Our results are pretty interesting and speak directly to the individual vs. system change debate🌎

The perceived feasibility of behavior change is positively associated with support for domain-mat...

Significant greenhouse gas emission reductions can come from changing consumer behaviors. While the technical mitigation potential of such changes is known, evidence of their feasibility is less...

2

32

104

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Just received my copy of @tdietzvt ’s new book ‘Decisions for Sustainability’🤩 I’ve already read most of it and can therefore with full confidence say that this is a fantastic piece of work with an impressive integration of knowledge across disciplines! #sustainability #climate

Tweet media one

3

8

103

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

In a new paper led by Andrew Balmford, we discuss how conservationists can make more effective use of behavioral science in selecting, designing, and implementing interventions to promote biodiversity conservation. A quick summary of the paper...

3

45

99

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

7 months

🚨The climate crisis is a health crisis🚨 In a new @healthpsychrev paper, we call for #health psychologists to address this crisis in their research, teaching, policymaking, and personal actions🌍💡 Great collaboration w/ @EstherPapies & @VeraAraujoSoare

Tweet card media

Health psychology and climate change: time to address humanity’s most existential crisis

Climate change is an ongoing and escalating health emergency. It threatens the health and wellbeing of billions of people, through extreme weather events, displacement, food insecurity, pathogenic ...

www.tandfonline.com

1

46

97

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

4 months

Stop buying stuff you don’t need

Tweet media one

4

9

97

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Please help share if you like (or hate) the post: @CameronBrick @KevinClimate @GretaThunberg @Sander_vdLinden @algore @GlobalEcoGuy @billmckibben @CFigueres @leahstokes @DrKWilkinson @KHayhoe @steviedubyu @ClimateHuman

15

9

96

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

📢Broadening the scope of individual climate action shows the myriad ways to take impactful #ClimateAction even if you struggle to change some consumer behaviors. It also shows how individual action can help facilitate larger and necessary #SystemChanges

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Arguments against individual climate action are posted at a never-ending pace. Here’s a 🧵from a behavioral scientist on why individual behavior change is in fact critical for tackling the climate crisis. #individualANDsystemchange

83

751

2K

1

6

95

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Terrific new paper on individual climate action by @samhampton and @lwhitmarsh ! It’s really great to see how they highlight the multiple roles through which individuals can take #climate action!

Tweet card media

Choices for climate action: A review of the multiple roles individuals play

Transformations in everyday behaviors are required to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Behaviors are influenced by individual, social, physical, and political factors, yet the social scientific...

2

33

92

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Watch this great video to learn about the extreme climate impact of the super-rich. We must fight their excess lifestyles and social and political influence! But remember that many of us are still pretty privileged and need to change too... (1/2)

Tweet card media

How the rich wreck the climate (and how to stop them)

Private jets. Mega-yachts. Helicopters. Mansions. The luxury lifestyles of the ultra-rich are pumping our air full of pollutants. So how do we clean them up ...

www.youtube.com

6

35

90

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

7 months

This new article in @NatureHumBehav is one of the coolest behavioral studies I've read in a while👏 They quantified the '15-minute city' in the US using human mobility data from 40 million mobile devices! Would love to see a similar study for Europe🇪🇺

Tweet card media

The 15-minute city quantified using human mobility data

Nature Human Behaviour - Using mobility data, the authors quantify usage patterns of so-called ‘15-minute cities’ and uncover a worrying trade-off: increased local usage correlates with...

0

18

89

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

10 months

🚨 Super excited to share our new paper in @OneEarth_CP on individual climate behavior and policy support 🙌🌍 Big thanks to (co-)lead @kuk_charlotte and the rest of the team @michaelvandenb6 @Sander_vdLinden @roozenbot A brief 🧵with key findings.

2

35

89

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Very excited about the launch of this new open-access and free-to-publish journal for environmental psychology!🥳🌍 I will definitely send my psychological work there moving forward.

@Global_Env_Psy

Journal of Global Environmental Psychology

@Global_Env_Psy

2 years

Today we launch the Journal of Global environmental psychology. GEP has been co-developed by researchers in our field. It's free for authors & readers. We look forward to theoretical & applied work on the relationship between people & their environment 🌏

Tweet media one

2

82

215

4

13

86

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

7 months

On Wednesday, I spoke at the pre-conference on sustainability at #SPSP2024 . I talked about bridging the #individual and #systemic perspectives in psychological research on #climate change mitigation🌍 #SP32024 🧵with highlights (in the hope someone finds them useful🙂)

Tweet media one

2

21

86

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

People with high SES not only have excessive carbon footprints through consumption, but they also have disproportionate power through their roles as investors, role models, participants in organizations, and citizens.

Tweet media one

3

22

84

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

The most discussed role of high-SES people is undoubted as consumers. The top 10% of income globally is responsible for 50% of the household emissions. The climate pollution of the top 1% ($109,000 a year) equals that of the world's poorest 4.75 billion people (this is insane!).

4

20

83

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Excited to share a new article on carbon labeling in @NatureClimate with @tdietzvt , @michaelvandenb6 , @rlshwom , Khan Taufique & Paul Stern. We find carbon labeling a promising mitigation initiative but perhaps not for the reasons you think. A long🧵...

8

28

81

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

🚨Excited to share a new paper (in press) w/ @CameronBrick and @wilhelm_hofmann on emotions and biodiversity🌿We hope to inspire much more research on the emotional dimensions of biodiversity conservation and highlight opportunities for future research🌍🐾

Opportunities for emotion research on biodiversity

We see unique opportunities to advance emotion research by studying an overlooked environmental problem. The biodiversity crisis is caused by land use, in particular by reducing and damaging habita...

6

23

77

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

The moment @LeoDiCaprio thanks you for your contributions 🤩 Mission complete!! 🍾🥳

@LeoDiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio

3 years

Thanks to all the experts who contributed to the #DontLookUp climate platform, including @KHayhoe @MichaelEMann @ClimateHuman @globalecoguy @DrShepherd2013 @jrockstrom @kristiansn89 @lec101 @EricaChenoweth @leahstokes @DoctorVive @maxboykoff @markhertsgaard @climategeorge (1/2)

74

181

1K

1

1

77

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Most of this climate pollution is created through frequent and long-distance travel by planes and cars, followed by home energy use (and food). Changing these behaviors is key to halting global warming. We must focus on changing the behaviors with the largest climate impact!

2

17

78

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Addressing the climate crisis surely requires systemic changes. Sadly, the present political climate in many countries deems such changes unlikely anytime soon. Because rapid action is needed and GHGs are long-lived, we need to start talking about feasibility. A short 🧵

Tweet media one

10

20

78

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

. @lwhitmarsh kicking off Day 1 of @icep2023 with a brilliant talk. She highlighted the importance of behavior change in climate mitigation and how environmental psychology can contribute to this. I also love hated the reminder about how often climate scientists fly for work!

Tweet media one

2

8

71

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

There's a first for everything. I'm featured in this fantastic animated video by @SpringerNature about our @NatureEnergyJnl paper on wealthy people's role in climate mitigation and my involvement w/ @netflix 's climate action platform for @dontlookupfilm !

Tweet card media

Lights, Camera, Science - The powerful combination of science and...

Lights, Camera, Science is a short film conveying the reach and impact of published research from Springer Nature on Popular Culture.The film explores how th...

www.youtube.com

4

23

72

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Next week, @icep2023 is happening at @AarhusUni and I cannot wait😍Not only is the conference taking place in my hometown I will also get to hang out with great friends and colleagues in #environmental psychology. It will be a fun-filled week with great talks and conversations🌎

6

3

75

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Today marks my final week living in Cambridge! I've met some amazing and brilliant people at @CCI_Cambridge , @CSDMLab and beyond who I will miss dearly🥹 At the same time, I'm excited to move back home to #Copenhagen and reconnect with family and friends!

2

3

74

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Great new study by @katy_milkman and team in @PNASNews . But their results are pretty damming for behavioral experts (and myself). Time for some critical soul searching in behavioral science? @CameronBrick @Sander_vdLinden @wilhelm_hofmann @siminevazire

Tweet media one

6

16

71

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

🧵 #ICEP2023 was without a doubt the best conference I've ever been to!🤩 Massive thanks to the @icep2023 team🙏 We truly have an amazing and supportive community! I also cannot get over the quality and ambition of our early-career researchers who are really improving our field🌱

2

10

68

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

I strongly recommend listening to @_david_ho_ . It's time to stop living in technological fantasy land and start to actually cut emissions now.

Tweet card media

Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution — we need to change the narrative

Nature - Drastically reduce emissions first, or carbon dioxide removal will be next to useless.

4

12

69

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Alternative framing: individual behavior change is an important and necessary part of the solution, but its impact on policy and GHG emissions scales via social diffusion and organizing. 📢Takeaway: you should change high-impact behaviors AND take non-consumer climate actions

@ThierryAaron

Dr. Aaron Thierry

1 year

1/ The most common question I get asked when I give talks about the #ClimateCrisis is "but what can I do as an individual?" Here's my answer... 🧵

Tweet media one

154

1K

3K

1

17

72

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Excited to share a new paper on the environmental impacts of clothing. With data from four countries, we show how impacts vary across the life cycle and between countries. We find strong country differences with U.S. consumers having the greatest impacts.

5

26

69

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

📢Do people who struggle with behavior change want policies to help them? We explored just this in @JEnvPsych focusing on meat consumption and support for a governmental and institutional policy to increase meat prices. Led by the fabulous @kuk_charlotte 🌍

1

7

70

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

Great piece by @NaomiOreskes on @Stanford . It's beyond belief that a f***ing sustainability school finds it justifiable to take money from fossil fuel companies. Academia desperately needs a fossil-fuel deep cleanse! @FosFreeResearch @amywestervelt

Tweet card media

Fossil-Fuel Money Will Undermine Stanford's New Sustainability School

Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability will take energy industry donations, which will warp priorities and research agendas

www.scientificamerican.com

3

21

65

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

In shocking news, most rainforest carbon offsets turn out to be absolutely rubbish. Perhaps we better start actually cutting our emissions then?

1

16

67

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

2 years

100% agree with this great reply by @colognav and @NaomiOreskes . To reiterate once more, social science and humanities research is critical for understanding and informing the transformation of society to effectively and ethically combat climate change!

3

21

67

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

But we need to look beyond consumption. As investors, high-SES people can move their money from banks and pension funds that finance fossil fuels and support campaigns to get universities, schools, and businesses to divest from fossil fuels. This will accelerate decarbonization.

3

11

67

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

🚨 #Copenhagen is launching a Climate Citizens Assembly!👏 36 citizens now get to make policy recommendations for how Copenhagen can greatly reduce its emissions from #food , #transport , and #housing . I'm excited to join the expert group with @Madsejsing @TulliaJack @LineKryger .

Tweet media one

3

12

62

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

📢We just published the first (I believe) Registered Report in @JEnvPsych 🌳🐝 Big thanks to Mario Wenzel for leading and to co-authors Zarah Rowland & Florian Lange. Our results didn't turn out as expected, which underscores the beauty & importance of RRs!

5

15

66

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

1 year

Quick side note: Individual action is often equated with consumer behavior, but it’s much more than that. It includes attending a protest, advocating for companies to implement climate initiatives, dedicating land for nature restoration, and shifting investments away from FFs.

2

9

63

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

6 months

Our recent preprint is my best empirical paper to date🤩 We find that *carbon footprint inequality* is widely underestimated in 🇩🇰🇮🇳🇳🇬🇺🇸. We also find that the actual carbon footprint inequality is perceived as fairer among the wealthy🔥

Underestimation of personal carbon footprint inequality in four socio-economically diverse countries

Extensive research highlights global and within-country inequality in personal carbon footprints. However, the extent to which people are aware of this inequality remains unclear. This study examined...

1

20

64

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

7 months

Here's a beautifully emblematic quote from a wealthy participant: “Besides my business travel [estimated 200-300 hours annually], I think our footprint is relatively small... we recycle...” 🤯🤯 📢This is why we need climate policies that target the lifestyles of the wealthy!!

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

7 months

Very interesting preprint on the Carbon Capability of the wealthiest people in the UK 💰🌍 We need many more climate behavioral studies with wealthy participants, given their disproportionate climate impacts and influence🙏 @lwhitmarsh @samhampton

Tweet media one

0

12

54

2

15

64

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Some colleagues and I are writing a reply to @Nature 's editor with an emphasis on the critical role of social science. Let's see if they publish our reply once submitted later this week.

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

Not a word about the need for more social science research on climate change mitigation in this editorial from @Nature . As always we just need more innovation and new technologies... #ClimateActionNow

14

90

325

2

3

63

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

8 months

I highly recommend @steviedubyu 's new piece in @ConversationUK on climate leadership🌍 "Avoiding the topic of individual behaviour change serves mainly to protect the lifestyles of the wealthy, who have the most choice to act in lower-carbon ways." 🙌

Tweet card media

Why billionaires should take the lead and declare their own emissions cutting targets

Research shows prominent individuals can influence the rest of us.

theconversation.com

4

39

63

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

5 months

We need changes in all parts of society, including individual behavior. Consumer decisions (e.g.🥦🚄🏘️��️🚘) are essential for mitigation and shouldn't be dismissed. But other personal actions are also key and can promote social and political change. My🧵

@CharlieJGardner

Dr Charlie Gardner

@CharlieJGardner

5 months

People are worried and want to do something about climate change, but 99% of the advice around is focused on lifestyle and consumer decisions This is not just minimally effective for change, but also disempowering and demotivating

Tweet media one

110

550

2K

3

12

62

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

4 years

In a new comment, we argue that too much focus on psych theory and low-impact behaviors have undermined psychology's contribution to solving environmental problems. We propose a five-step research agenda to remedy this. @CameronBrick @colognav @JEnvPsych :

The case for impact-focused environmental psychology

Human activities are causing climate change and severely degrading ecosystems resulting in biodiversity loss unprecedented for millions of years (IPBES, 2019; IPCC, 2018). Mitigating these problems...

2

19

60

@kristiansn89

Kristian Steensen Nielsen

3 years

I’m honored that two of my articles with awesome collaborators are featured in @Rare_org list of the best Behavior and Environment studies of 2021! @KA_Nicholas @efesce @juliapgjones @MarteauTM @pauljferraro @eegarnett89 @verissimodiogo @Sander_vdLinden

Best Behavior and Environment Studies of 2021

The Center for Behavior & the Environment at Rare has produced our annual 'best of' behavioral science and environment research from 2021.

6

13

61