Behavioral Economics and Climate Protection: Better regulation and green nudges for more sustainability

The field of behavioral economics provides empirical evidence of psychological factors that influence and even hinder sustainable behavior, ultimately leading to a gap between the will to act sustainably and actual behavior. Cognitive barriers, different social factors and group affiliations result in a complex system of diverse behavioral patterns, environmental attitudes, needs and expectations that must be considered when designing environmental policy instruments. People can be motivated to behave more ecologically without restricting their freedom of choice by the intelligent and effective use of green nudges rather than prohibitions. Identifying an effective, target-group-specific and ethical policy for counteracting climate change and encouraging more sustainable behavior requires an interdisciplinary approach combining behavioral-economic empiricism with ethical insights.