In it for the money,the environment,or the community? Motives for being involved in community energy initiatives

Community energy initiatives can foster a sustainable energy transition by promoting sustainable energy behaviour in the communities in which they are embedded. This raises the question of what motivates people to become involved in these initiatives. We investigated the importance of financial, environmental, and communal motives for initiative involvement. We propose that communal motives (i.e., being involved in one’s local community) may be related to initiative involvement, as community energy initiatives not only aim to promote sustainable energy behaviour but also enable people to be involved in their community. Across three studies, respondents rated financial and environmental motives as more important than communal motives for their involvement in community energy initiatives. Yet, environmental and communal motives were uniquely related to initiative involvement, while financial motives were not. The discrepancy between which motives people rate as important and which motives actually relate to their initiative involvement suggests that financial motives are an overrated motive, while communal motives are an underrated motive for involvement in community energy initiatives. Our results suggest that targeting communal motives may be an additional way to enhance involvement in community energy initiatives and foster sustainable behaviour among people, who may not otherwise be interested in environmental protection.     

Bridging science and community knowledge? The complicating role of natural variability in perceptions of climate change

Although the spatial and temporal scales on which climate varies is a prominent aspect of climate research in the natural sciences, its treatment in the social sciences remains relatively underdeveloped. The result is limited understanding of the public's capacity to perceive climate variability as distinct from change, and uncertainty surrounding how and when to best communicate information on variability/change. Ignoring variability in favour of change-focused analyses and language risks significant misrepresentation of public perception and knowledge, and precludes detailed synthesis of data from the social and natural sciences. An example is presented based on a regional comparison of variability-dominated climate observations and change-focused survey data, collected in western Newfoundland (Canada). This region experiences pronounced, slow-varying natural variability, which acted to obscure broader climate trends through the 1980s and 1990s; since the late 1990s, the same variability has amplified apparent change. While survey results confirm residents perceive regional climate change, it is not clear whether respondents distinguish variability from change. This presents uncertainty in the best approach to climate science communication in this region, and raises concern that subsequent variability-driven transient cooling will erode public support for climate action. Parallels are drawn between these regional concerns and similar uncertainty surrounding treatment of variability in discussion of global temperature trends, highlighting variability perception as a significant gap in human dimensions of climate change research.     

Perceptions on climate change of the traditional community Cuiabá Mirim,Pantanal Wetland,Mato Grosso,Brazil

The latest scientific findings indicate that the increased concentration of greenhouse gases emitted by anthropogenic sources is significantly altering the balance of the global climate system. Considering forecasts of changes in the hydrological cycle and temperature related to global warming, the dynamics governing the functioning of the Pantanal Wetland, responsible for its rich biodiversity, find themselves threatened. Thus, this study was designed in the space-time of the Pantanal people called pantaneiros, and aims to discuss the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of the Traditional Community Cuiabá Mirim regarding climate change. The information presented was obtained from 22 pantaneiros, between March 2008 and March 2010. The population sample was selected by the Snow Ball method. For data collection, semi structured interviews and oral histories were used. The results were compared with observations, simulations and projections of the IPCC AR4 for the region. The main findings of this research indicate that TEK presents itself as a crucial and complementary source of information for the development of local/regional adaptation strategies to climate change, bringing a distinct and relevant point of view from vulnerable stakeholders to the decision makers.