Choices, Choices
7 years, 2 months, 13 days, 21 hours
8 May 2022
If we want individuals to change behaviour we have to make the positive choice also the easiest one.
Earlier this week I found myself in the company of racing cyclist supremo Chris Boardman. This was nothing to do with any cycling prowess on my part (50 miles is about my limit as an occasional fair-weather cyclist in the local cycling club) but rather because Chris is now the Active Travel Commissioner for England, responsible for helping promote cycling and walking.
It was something Chris said in closing that I have been debating with myself in the days since. He said individuals always do what is easiest and if we want individuals to change behaviour, in the cause of decarbonisation (or anything else, presumably) we have to make the positive choice also the easiest one.
Really? Are we as humans so amoral that we don’t weigh consequences against our own convenience? It sounds uncomfortable but I must admit that as I examine my own travel choices convenience is the deciding factor time and again.
I’ve been asked to go the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos at the end of May and I looked at the options from Yorkshire to Davos by rail. It is possible, but would mean leaving home a day earlier than if I take a flight. I’ve reluctantly concluded that Chris must be right in the generality.
Only a minority can afford to pay a premium for green power, a green building or a green journey. So we must bring the cost down to parity and then below. This is a core argument of Bill Gates’ book ‘How to Avoid a Climate Disaster’ that I read over Christmas, which argues for green cost reduction through technology innovation and scaling up.
But it is not just about cost. It is also about knowing that the sustainable option exists, and making it as easy and convenient as possible to choose. Moovit is a great example of an app that does that for travel within myriad cities globally, showing how data platforms can help.