2023 / Climate, Health and well-being

Leveraging Neuroscience for Climate Change Research

Citation

Doell, K. C., Berman, M. G., Bratman, G. N., Knutson, B., Kühn, S., Lamm, C., … & Brosch, T. (2023). Leveraging neuroscience for climate change research. Nature Climate Change, 13(12), 1288-1297. doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01857-4

Link to file

An illustration of neural connectionsClimate change caused by human activity is seriously threatening the way we live. In this paper, the authors argue that neuroscience can play a powerful role in the fight against climate change by:

  • Showing how climate change harms the brain.
  • Finding ways to adapt so we can stay resilient in a changing world.
  • Revealing why we make the environmental choices we do. Dig into what’s happening in our brains when we choose planet-friendly or planet-harming actions.
  • Designing smarter climate messaging and interventions using brain science to figure out what actually motivates people to act.

The paper is also a call to action. The researchers are asking neuroscientists to join the broader scientific community in tackling one of the biggest threats our planet has ever faced.

Abstract

Figure 1: Reciprocal relationships between the brain and a changing environment.

Anthropogenic climate change poses a substantial threat to societal living conditions. Here, we argue that neuroscience can substantially contribute to the fight against climate change and provide a framework and a roadmap to organize and prioritize neuroscience research in this domain. We outline how neuroscience can be used to:

  1. Investigate the negative impact of climate change on the human brain;
  2. Identify ways to adapt;
  3. Understand the neural substrates of decisions with pro-environmental and harmful outcomes; and
  4. Create neuroscience-based insights into communication and intervention strategies that aim to promote climate action.

The paper is also a call to action for neuroscientists to join broader scientific efforts to tackle the existential environmental threats Earth is currently facing.

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