In its latest Assessment Report 2024 titled Towards EU Climate Neutrality: Progress, Policy Gaps, and Opportunities, the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) underscores the urgent need for climate policies to go beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The report suggests that to achieve true societal transformation, policies must be supported by compelling, evidence-driven narratives that connect with local communities and reflect the full spectrum of benefits, including well-being, job creation, and economic resilience.

Reframing Climate Policies: From Costs to Benefits

A central theme in the ESABCC’s report is the power of storytelling in climate action. Too often, climate policies are framed narrowly and technically around emissions reductions and cost-effectiveness. However, the Advisory Board argues that successful climate strategies must integrate a “whole-of-society” approach—one that highlights both the tangible and intangible benefits of climate action. These include not just environmental sustainability, but also improved health, economic opportunities, and greater energy security. In telling these narratives, the link must be made between these benefits and climate policy.

Localized narratives tailored to specific community contexts can ignite societal and behavioral changes. For example, demand-side mitigation strategies—those that focus on changing consumption patterns and reducing energy use—are crucial, yet largely untapped. By promoting awareness, professional advice, and community-driven solutions, policymakers can tap into people’s inherent willingness to adopt sustainable practices when they see direct benefits for their families, neighborhoods, and society at large.

Behavioral Shifts: Small Changes, Big Results in Energy and Buildings

The Assessment Report 2024 highlights the transformative potential of small behavioral changes, particularly in energy consumption. Behavioral interventions such as energy labeling, goal-setting, and social comparison have already shown promising results in reducing private household energy use. The report notes that between 2019 and 2022, these shifts contributed to a 12% reduction in fossil gas consumption in EU buildings, with behavior changes accounting for half of that decrease.

Further policies, the report suggests, could harness this momentum by encouraging better use of existing buildings and addressing rebound effects in renovation projects—where energy use increases post-renovation due to lifestyle changes. Policies need to be more attuned to the nuances of behavioral change to ensure long-term reductions in energy consumption.

Agriculture and the Power of Sustainable Diets

The ESABCC’s report also turns the spotlight on the agricultural sector, urging policymakers to focus on educating consumers about sustainable diets and food waste reduction. While there may be cultural and social challenges in shifting dietary habits, the report suggests that policies can build on deeply held values—such as health—by emphasizing the myriad benefits of sustainable eating.

Yet, the Advisory Board notes that EU climate policies have been slow to capitalize on the potential of societal and behavioral shifts in consumption patterns. Current narratives, focused mainly on emissions reduction, often overlook the broader advantages of climate action. This gap is particularly evident in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), where building renovations have not been sufficiently framed in terms of their multiple societal benefits—such as job creation, reduced energy poverty, and improved public health.

Policy Integration: Multiple Benefits, One Strategy

The Assessment Report 2024 calls for greater integration of multiple benefits in EU climate policies. Recent initiatives like the European Commission’s Renovation Wave Strategy and the New European Bauhaus are steps in the right direction, aiming to connect climate action with values of sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion. The New European Bauhaus, in particular, seeks to transform society by encouraging new lifestyles and fostering energy-efficient buildings that also improve quality of life.

The EPBD’s recast version supports this vision by recognizing the broad benefits of energy efficiency, such as job creation and energy security. New provisions, such as the proposed building renovation passport and smart readiness indicators, aim to promote behavior changes by improving access to data and encouraging smarter energy use.

Energy Security: Connecting Climate Action to Daily Life

One of the most urgent calls from the Assessment Report 2024 is for climate policies to connect more directly to people’s everyday concerns. In light of the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission’s focus on energy security—tied to renewable energy and energy-saving measures—has resonated strongly with the public. By framing climate action in terms of local issues like air pollution and energy dependence, the EU can make climate policies more relatable and compelling.

This shift in narrative helps engage citizens in transformative changes that benefit both the environment and their immediate well-being. The report stresses that EU climate policies could achieve even greater success if they further integrate these multiple benefits and communicate them in ways that are relevant to local contexts.

A Call for Better, Data-Driven Narratives

In sum, the Assessment Report 2024 urges EU policymakers to refine and expand their narratives around climate action. These stories must be grounded in data and tailored to local realities, focusing on the full range of benefits that climate policies can offer—from improved public health to greater energy independence. Only by shifting from a narrow focus on emissions reductions to a more comprehensive approach can the EU truly mobilize societal and behavioral change at the scale necessary to reach climate neutrality.

By weaving compelling, evidence-based narratives into climate strategies, the EU can inspire the widespread engagement and action needed to create a sustainable, equitable future for all.

This isn’t a California focused report, but California likewise suffers from this issue. As it moves toward more transparency, California ought to bring greater focus on compelling, benefits-focused, evidence-based narratives into climate strategies to both achieve the greatest success in climate policy and to avoid policy pushback from those focused sonly on cost.