Cost of change paper on UNECE front page

I'm honored that the paper I authored with Dr Alina Mia Udall and Sudha Setty (She/Her) is on the front page of the UNECE website! And I'm also excited about it because it addresses an important question that is easy to overlook:

Why don't people choose the sustainable option, even when they know it makes sense?

Many technologies and solutions for the sustainable energy transition are already commercially available. We have information campaigns. We have financial incentives.

And still, uptake is often slower than expected.

One reason is the cost of change.

Not only the financial cost.

Imagine that you know better insulation would reduce your energy bills. You still need to find a contractor, compare offers, apply for support, manage the paperwork and deal with the disruption at home.

Or you support renewable energy in principle, but stay with your current energy provider because changing tariffs takes time and effort.

Or you see the value of a digital energy management system for your business, but hesitate because the technology seems complex and you are worried about disrupting your operations.

These are not simply information or motivation problems.

The cost of change can include:
• money
• time
• paperwork
• uncertainty
• loss of convenience
• disruption of routines
• and the mental effort needed to compare options and make a decision

The benefits of sustainable choices may come later, may be uncertain, or may benefit society more broadly. The costs of changing, however, are often immediate and tangible.

This is why policy needs to look beyond the question of whether people are sufficiently informed or motivated.

It also needs to ask: Does the decision environment make sustainable action feasible, simple and attractive?

Policies can help by simplifying processes, reducing administrative burdens, providing trusted support, using appropriate defaults and removing inefficient options.

Because sometimes people don't need another information campaign.

💡 We need the sustainable choice to be the easy choice.

What sustainable change have you wanted to make, but postponed because it felt too complicated?

#Sustainability #EnergyTransition #BehaviourChange #EnergyPolicy #SustainableChoices