Canadian study suggests social norms rival economics in climate fight and can sway action abroad

Efforts to cut emissions in one region can echo far beyond it, influencing public support for climate action elsewhere.

A new Canadian study found that those reactions are not driven by economics alone.

Social norms — the shared expectations that shape how people respond to climate risk — can cross borders too, sometimes bolstering climate action elsewhere and sometimes weakening it.

What's happening?

Published in Nature Communications, the research is based on a mathematical model developed at the University of Waterloo that groups the world into five broad regions: Asia, Latin America, the Middle East/Africa, OECD nations, and reforming economies in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. 

Within that framework, researchers examine how cultural attitudes, economic pressures, and perceived climate risk combine to influence support for emissions cuts. The findings, described in a Mirage News release, challenge a long-standing assumption used in many climate models. 

As Dr. Chris Bauch, professor of applied mathematics at the University of Waterloo, explained: "Climate models often assume people are rational economic actors who always act in their own best interest. Our model recognizes that people are also influenced by social norms, whether that's eating more beef or choosing reusable water bottles, and those behaviours can significantly affect climate change mitigation." 

The study suggests that a strategy that works in one region may not translate cleanly to another. In some places, more public discussion of climate change can build support for action, while in others it can trigger resistance.

Why does it matter?

One of the main points of this study is that progress in one region can lower motivation in another, and this should be cause for concern. If stronger mitigation efforts somewhere slow warming even slightly, people elsewhere may feel less urgency and may not see much of a need to help stop the climate crisis.

In countries such as the United States and Canada, the source release warned, that could decrease the social pressure for climate action and lead to damaging effects. More broadly, the research suggests that public backing for climate solutions is shaped by local conditions even though climate change is a global problem. 

Lead author Amrita Punnavajhala, a recent Ph.D. graduate in applied mathematics at Waterloo, said, "We found that greater discussion about climate change often increases support for mitigation, but in some regions, it can also fuel anti-mitigation sentiment." 

Leaders who focus only on economic incentives may miss why some climate policies gain momentum while others stall.

What's being done?

For policymakers, the study offers a way to think about climate strategy that better reflects how people actually behave. Instead of treating financial incentives as the main driver everywhere, it provides a framework for understanding how culture, behavior, and risk perception interact across regions. 

That could support more tailored strategies by recognizing that effective responses depend on a region's social and economic context rather than on a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Social expectations in workplaces, conversations with neighbors, and visible daily habits can all help normalize lower-emission choices in transportation, food, and reusable products, while reinforcing support for broader systemic changes. 

As Dr. Madhur Anand, an environmental science professor at the University of Guelph and an adjunct in Waterloo's Department of Applied Mathematics, put it: "There are constant feedback loops between climate change and human behaviour. Understanding those relationships will be essential to reducing emissions and building a more sustainable future."

While efforts to cut emissions in one region can help slow rising global temperatures, continued environmental initiatives around the world are essential to maintaining momentum for climate action. 

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