Select committee: Environment and Climate Change Committee
Recommendation 20
1st Report - In our hands: behaviour change for climate and environmental goals
Published 12 Oct 2022
Paragraph 107
Environment and Climate Change Committee Mobilising action on climate change and environment: behaviour change All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government should seize the opportunity to evaluate behaviour change which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the theory, drivers, and levers behind the changes, with a view to applying lessons learned to other critical policy areas, including climate change and the environment. The evaluation should include an assessment of the effectiveness of principles behind COVID-19 behaviour change interventions, such as open information, clear messaging about personal action, delivery of messages by both politicians and scientists, clarity about the role of government in relation to the role of individual action, and the use of an independent advisory structure through SAGE and SPI-B. The evaluation of lessons learned from behaviour change during the pandemic should be included in the package of guidance for departments working on policy development and implementation, which we discuss further in Chapters 8 and 9.
From: Environment and Climate Change Committee, 1st Report - In our hands: behaviour change for climate and environmental goals, paragraph 107, 12 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 21 December 2022 (deadline 12 December 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the committee's report and states that it has "carefully considered all the committee's conclusions and recommendations", responding mainly by pointing to existing strategies and policies, with some further action to follow.
- On the public engagement strategy sought by April 2023, the response points to the Net Zero Strategy and says a revised 25 Year Environment Plan will set out the approach to "enabling green choices, including through engagement".
- On a frequent flyer levy, the government says it "was minded to retain APD as the principal tax on the aviation sector", citing concerns about administrative complexity and data handling. It does not commit to a call for evidence.
- On Covid-19 lessons, it agrees there "may be useful lessons" and says it "will take this recommendation into consideration" as part of ongoing policy development.
- On Extended Producer Responsibility, it recognises its importance and says it will consult next year on reviewing existing producer responsibility systems. It is "considering" options for textiles.