Achieving the deep decarbonization required to meet the goals of The Paris Agreement requires significant shifts in behavior related to the global food system, which, due to many behavioral and systemic drivers, emits large amounts of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and continues to limit the planet’s capacity to absorb and sequester carbon. 

As desperately as a change is needed in the way protein is produced and consumed, the dense, complex nature of this system, with actors ranging from farms to governments to supermarkets to consumers, as well as the economic, political, legal, and social factors that drive each actor’s decision, can make this change a daunting prospect. However, we believe that with behavior science and systems thinking, this change is possible.

A systems approach is comprehensive in how we approach change; a behavioral approach leverages behavioral science evidence to enact it. Used together, these approaches are powerful tools for systematically 1) identifying the actors, behaviors, and structures that have a disproportionate impact on the outcome we are seeking to change, 2) diagnosing their causes, and 3) identifying and designing their solutions.

Root Solutions, along with RARE, teamed up with Climateworks Foundation, and Climate and Land Use Alliance to strategize on the crucial role behavioral science and systems thinking have in shifting protein consumption and achieving a food system for a livable climate. This project informed the multiyear strategies of CLUA, ClimateWorks, and their partners within climate philanthropy.