Social interactions can help slow climate change

Simply talking to your friends about adopting a more planet-friendly diet or avoiding the use of fossil fuels may help fight climate change, scientists say.

Researchers from the University of Guelph and University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a new mathematical model that accounts for social processes such as social learning in climate predictions. The studyshows that including social processes can alter climate change predictions. The findings may help stem or reduce global warming.

"Human behaviour affects natural systems including climate, and that climate systems in turn affect behaviour," said Madhur Anand, from University of Guelph.

"But social processes are often neglected in climate models," she said.

The researchers believe the key to slowing down global warming lies in coupling climate change models with social learning, or understanding how learning from others affects our opinions or actions.

For the study, the researchers combined a common climate prediction model with a new human behaviour model to look at interactions. They found that social learning about mitigation strategies such as hearing that a friend has bought a new hybrid car or adopted a plant-based diet can influence social norms in ways that ultimately affect climate outcomes.