What is happy climate action? A B.C. academic’s plan to protect the planet and spread joy
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A B.C. behaviour scientist is encouraging people to ask themselves two questions before agreeing to anything: “Will this make me happier?” and “Will this reduce my emissions?”
A B.C. behaviour scientist is encouraging people to ask themselves two questions before agreeing to anything.
“Will this make me happier?” and “Will this reduce my emissions?” are the guiding queries behind Dr. Jiaying Zhao’s concept of “happy climate action.”
Zhao, an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, launched a free, online workshop this week in hopes of putting the spotlight on the elation in climate action.
“My colleague Liz Dunn, who is a happiness scientist, asked me, ‘Does climate action always have to be miserable? Can’t it ever be happy?’ This gave me an ‘Aha!’ moment,” Zhao said in release by UBC Friday.
Dunn and Zhao co-designed the online workshop, which the website says can be completed by a group between three and 300 people in an hour or less time.
The goal is to help people create their own happy climate action plans by identifying behaviour changes that can reduce their carbon foot while increasing their life enjoyment.
Some examples include joining a climate rally, since Zhao says it’s a way to exercise a civil right while fostering community.
