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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barriers to pro-environmental behaviour | 3/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barriers_to_pro-environmental_behaviour | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:37:04.853257+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Economic factors === The cost of sustainable alternatives and financial measures used to support new technologies can also be a barrier to pro-environmental behaviour. Households may have severe budgetary constraints that discourage them from investing in energy-efficient measures. In addition, individuals may fear that project costs will not be recovered prior to a future sale of a property. Economic factors are not just barriers to pro-environmental behaviour for individual households but are also a barrier on the international scale. Developing countries that rely on coal and fossil fuels may not have the funding or infrastructure to switch to more sustainable energy sources. Therefore, help from developed countries, with regards to cost, may be needed. As nations become more prosperous, their citizens are less concerned with the economic battle for survival and are free to pursue postmaterialistic ideals such as political freedom, personal fulfillment, and environmental conservation.
In other cases however, environment-friendly behaviours may be undertaken for non-environmental reasons, such as to save money or to improve health (e.g. biking or walking instead of driving).
=== Structural barriers === Structural barriers are large-scale systemic barriers that may be perceived as being objective and external, and can be highly influential and near impossible to control, even when one wishes to adopt more pro-environmental behaviour. For example, lack of organizational and governmental action on sustainability is considered a barrier for individuals looking to participate in sustainable practices. Further examples of structural barriers include: low problem awareness at the local level caused by a low priority for adaptation at higher institutional levels, and missing leadership by certain key actors leading to an absence of appropriate decision-making routines. Other structural barriers reported from a Vancouver-based study include: term limits imposed on politicians that affect council's ability to make long-term decisions; budgetary cycles that force planning based on three year terms, rather than long-term planning; and hierarchical systems that inhibit flexibility and innovation. Research has shown that individuals may not behave in accordance with environmental sustainability when they have little control over the outcome of a situation. An example of a structural choice that can influence an individual's use of high carbon transport, occurs when cities governments allow sprawling neighbourhoods to develop without associated public transit infrastructure. The concept of barriers has also been defined in relation to adaptive capacity, the ability of a system to respond to environmental changes; a barrier can either be a reason for potential adaptive capacity not being translated into action, or a reason for the existence of low adaptive capacity.
== See also == Climate action – Actions to reduce climate change Human impact on the environment – Impact of human life on Earth and environment Transit desert – Area lacking in transit
== References ==