Global Study Reveals Best Ways to Influence Climate Beliefs and Behaviors

Last year marked a troubling milestone: it was the hottest since record-keeping began 175 years ago. It was also the first time global temperatures exceeded the 1.5-degree Celsius limit established by the Paris Agreement, an international climate accord created in 2015 to limit warming. This sobering reality underscores the urgency of action from governments, corporations and individuals.

While bleak, there is some hope: the World Meteorological Organization says that limiting long-term global warming is possible — but only if we can dramatically accelerate decarbonization efforts across the planet. A critical component of this acceleration will be understanding and influencing consumer behavior on a global scale.

Breaking New Ground in Climate Psychology Research

A recent study by the International Climate Psychology Collaboration — involving more than 200 experts, including University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Luca Cian — offers new insights into how various interventions influence climate change attitudes and actions around the world.

“What makes this research truly important is not just its scale — with nearly 60,000 participants across 63 countries — but its comprehensive approach to measuring multiple outcomes that matter for climate action,” says Cian. “We're seeing for the first time which specific interventions move the needle on beliefs, policy support, information sharing, and actual behavioral commitments across different populations.”

The research tested 11 distinct psychological strategies, from making climate change feel more immediate and relevant (called reducing psychological distance) to using emotionally intense “doom and gloom” messages.

The team looked at how well each method influenced four key areas: belief in climate change, support for climate policies, willingness to share climate information on social media, and participation in a tree-planting activity.

Tailored Approaches for Different Goals

Perhaps the most revealing finding is that no single intervention works well for everyone or every goal. Different strategies are effective for different people — and some interventions that increase belief in climate change can actually reduce willingness to act.

“This research challenges the one-size-fits-all approach that many climate campaigns adopt,” says Cian. “The data shows we need sophisticated, targeted strategies that account for cultural differences, pre-existing beliefs and specific desired outcomes. What works to promote social media sharing in Kenya might fail completely in Latvia, and what convinces a climate believer might alienate a skeptic.”

To strengthen belief in climate change, the researchers found that making it feel more urgent and closer to home was the most effective strategy. That strategy boosted belief by 2.3%. Writing a letter to a future generation increased support for climate policies by 2.6%, showing that linking today’s actions to future consequences can strongly influence policy views.

Surprisingly, messages that focused on negative emotions — the so-called “doom and gloom” approach — led to a big increase in people’s willingness to share climate content on social media: a jump of 12.1%, even among skeptics. This contradicts conventional wisdom that positive messages are always better for climate communication.

“The social media finding is particularly fascinating,” says Cian. “While climate communicators often avoid negative framing for fear of paralyzing people with despair, our research suggests that emotionally charged content significantly outperforms other approaches when it comes to information sharing. This has profound implications for how we design viral climate content.”

The Behavior Challenge

But when it came to real-world action — such as planting a tree — the picture was more discouraging. None of the interventions led to more participation, and some actually reduced it. This highlights a difficult truth: changing attitudes and even intentions doesn’t always lead to action.

However, researchers did find a link between belief, policy support and social media sharing — and tree-planting behavior. This suggests that even if behavior doesn’t change immediately, building belief and engagement might eventually lead to behavioral change.

National and Cultural Differences Matter

The study also found major differences between countries. While 86% of people globally said they believed in climate change, willingness to share climate content on social media ranged from just 17% in Latvia to 93% in Kenya.

“These differences highlight why locally tailored approaches are essential,” says Cian. “Cultural values, economic circumstances and local climate impacts all shape how people respond to different messages. Understanding these nuances is crucial for designing effective climate communication strategies that resonate within specific contexts.”

Strategic Messaging for Real-World Impact

Based on these results, the researchers identified several practical strategies for better climate messages:

• Match the messages to the audience: Different approaches work for different people. While writing to future generations works broadly, appealing to negative emotions may backfire with skeptics.
• Choose strategies based on the goal: If the goal is policy support, future-oriented messaging works best. Emotional messages work best for driving social media engagement.
• Highlight social norms: Showing that most people care about climate change helps others see climate action as normal.
• Build trust with science: Emphasizing that nearly all scientists agree human activity is causing climate change can increase support for policies.
• Make it personal: Helping people see how climate solutions benefit their own future increases commitment to action.

“What excites me most about this research is its practical applicability,” says Cian. “We're not just theorizing about what might work — we're providing concrete, data-driven guidance for policymakers, marketers and communicators trying to motivate climate action in the real world. And the tree-planting component demonstrates our commitment to ensuring this research itself has positive climate impact.”

Thanks to the study, more than 300,000 trees were planted through The Eden Reforestation Project. Once mature, they’ll absorb about 11,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year — proving  that research can help both in understanding and fighting climate change.

As global temperatures continue to rise, these insights will be essential for shaping climate communication, public policy and business strategy. While no single solution emerged for changing climate behaviors over the long term, this landmark study provides a roadmap for more effectively engaging a range of people across the globe in the critical work of addressing climate change.

Luca Cian is co-author of “The International Climate Psychology Collaboration: Climate change-related data collected from 63 countries,” published in Scientific Data (2024), and “Addressing Climate Change with Behavioral Science: A Global Intervention Tournament in 63 Countries,” published in Science Advances (2024).