Will short-term behavior changes during the COVID-19 crisis evolve into low- carbon practices?

In the course of the COVID-19 crisis, there were a number of behavioral adaptations to the extraordinary conditions that temporarily reduced individual carbon footprints. The question is whether these short-term changes will evolve into sustainable behavioral habits and how to support these changes through policy measures. During the three waves of the pandemic, there has been an increase in surveys as well as in social science studies and research in Germany and other countries on the topic of behavioral changes due to the pandemic. The paper recapitulates what is known about behavior change from psychology and sociology, and synoptically summarizes the preliminary findings from the empirical studies conducted so far. The emphasis will be on the behavioral changes, with a focus on mobility and work routines, as witnessed in Germany. However, the insights from Germany may also shed a light on similar processes in other countries.

Automated summary

During the COVID-19 crisis, people made behavioral adaptations to temporarily reduce their individual carbon footprints. This paper summarizes existing knowledge on behavior change from psychology and sociology, and provides an overview of preliminary findings from empirical studies conducted so far. The focus is on changes in mobility and work routines in Germany, which may also provide insights for other countries.