Korea team: Public engagement in climate change harm reduction campaigns
Updated: Apr 6
Problem: How can we engage a large population in public climate change harm reduction campaigns?
Solution: Promote “Green Nudges” to minimize effort/hesitation in daily decision-making
During the April 2025 symposium, representatives from GEN’s Korea team focused on strategies to engage larger populations in green campaigns aimed at combatting the effects of climate change. As human-driven damage from climate change continues to intensify, the Korea team argued that awareness alone is insufficient. Rather than relying solely on moral appeals and penalties, behavior can be “nudged” instead, making sustainable actions easier and more intuitive to pursue in everyday life.
A “nudge” is a non-intrusive tool that preserves individual autonomy while gently guiding better choices. Drawing from research by Thaler and Sunstein, they focused on the ability of nudges to leverage psychological insights and operate subtly rather than coercively. The team applied the E.A.S.T. framework to approach this strategy: making sustainable decisions Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely, building on UNEP’s The Little Book of Green Nudges.
Examples of nudges practiced in Korea include the “Wrist Doctor” program in Seoul, where daily steps tracked by smart devices earn points that can be used towards bike passes and gift cards. Another initiative led by the Ministry of Environment involved a Green Nudge contest, where the winning concept was creative storm drain art to discourage littering and remind the public of drains’ connections to oceans and rivers. The two nudges exemplified the “social”, “attractive”, and “timely” aspects of the E.A.S.T. framework.
Through their cross-application of behavioral science concepts and existing Korean public policy, the Korea team demonstrated green nudging as a scalable, cost-effective strategy that empowers greater populations to participate in climate solutions, reinforcing the idea that small, behavioral shifts designed to minimize effort yet maintain autonomy can drive collective environmental impact.
Read more below:
Comments