04 – Influencing Environmental Behaviours – Lessons From Trump and Brexit – Dr David Rose, University of East Anglia

Moving away from innovations and onto new perspectives this week, as I interview an academic who says we need to get down from our ivory towers, stop the finger pointing and start communicating better about environmental issues. This podcast series isn’t just about shining a spotlight on innovators and businesses that are disrupting the way we deal with environmental issues, it is also a chance to speak to people who might offer a different perspective. When trying to influence behaviour around environmental issues, sometimes it feels like no matter how hard we try, the message just doesn’t get through to certain groups of people. With America withdrawing from Paris Climate Accord for example, it seems like things are almost getting worse. But instead of looking for new approaches or different tactics, we too often resort to simply shouting more loudly within our echo chambers. So how do we influence people on an individual and also group level in an effective way and help instill new behaviours? Well for some answers I’ve turned to academia to speak to an academic who is working on this exact thing, to try and get some answers. Dr David Rose is a lecturer at the University of East Anglia. His recent publications include papers such as "understanding how to influence farmers’ decision-making behaviour". And as the agricultural industry is often touted by environmentalists as an area that needs to see some of the biggest changes, I thought this was a good place to start. Prepare for a few bitter reality checks, and of course, Brexit and Trump get a mention to. We also question whether we should be more optimistic about the whole thing.