In light of the need for evidence-based policy to build small-scale farmers’ resiliency, J-PAL staff present findings from randomized and quasi-experimental evaluations of climate-resilient agricultural technologies and practices. Small-scale farmers in low- and middle-income countries are critical to global food security, and yet their welfare and livelihoods are extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts. More… Continue reading Evidence Synthesis on Climate-Resilient Agriculture

A panel discussion on climate-resilient agricultural technologies and practices with J-PAL staff and researcher Arnaud Dakpogan

Investments in energy efficiency are critical for a net-zero electricity system but are hindered by the ‘energy-efficiency gap’. Primary studies have evaluated the efficacy of various strategies in overcoming this gap and increasing adoption of energy efficient appliances by households, but a systematic evaluation of the evidence is missing with existing reviews focusing primarily on… Continue reading Meta-analysis on the efficacy of behavioral, information and economic strategies in increasing energy-efficiency adoption among households

It is now widely accepted that a significant portion of emission reductions required to meet net-zero targets must come from individual behaviour change. Shifting consumers towards more sustainable food consumption and avoiding food waste have been identified as key levers to mitigate climate change and slow biodiversity decline. However, there remains a lack of knowledge… Continue reading Demand-side interventions for sustainable food systems: A meta-analysis of food policy interventions targeting food consumption and waste behaviours

Prevalent systems of land transport, centred around automobility, are energy inefficient and involve high economic, health and GHG emissions-related costs. As one class of solutions, demand-side behavioural change interventions (or soft policy interventions) are promoted to reduce car use and shift travellers to low-carbon transport modes. However, the relative effectiveness of such interventions in initiating… Continue reading Behavioural interventions change transport behavior but have only a limited impact on transport mode split

Reducing emissions from the building sector is one of the key steps in combating climate change, as the building sector is responsible for about 38% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Private households have opportunities to reduce a significant proportion of these emissions by improving the energy efficiency of their buildings, e.g. by refurbishing their insulation… Continue reading Encouraging structural changes to private homes to reduce carbon emissions: a systematic review and meta-analysis of (quasi-)experimental evidence

This paper conducts a meta-analysis on rebound effects regarding the energy transition for household end-use services toward renewable energies (including photovoltaic, biomass, green electricity, and heat pumps). The biomass and heat pump potentially lead to the highest size of rebound effect (approximately 33%). In addition, the rebound effect regarding green electricity is about 1–3 %… Continue reading Rebound effect in the era of energy transition

Behavioral interventions are considered promising approaches to promote pro-environmental behavior. Applying these interventions in high-emission sectors such as transportation could help mitigating climate change. While systematic evidence synthesis is important for a variety of stakeholders within and beyond academia, to our knowledge there are few systematic reviews and no systematic map focusing on behavioral interventions… Continue reading Evidence mapping of behavioral interventions to promote sustainable mobility behavior