After opening remarks by the Vice Rector for Digitalization and Sustainability Irene Hänschel-Erhart, the interdisciplinary workshop featured a series of short scientific presentations delivered by researchers from the University of Innsbruck representing the Departments of Public Finance, Economics, Banking and Finance, Organisation and Learning, and Psychology – as well as guest researchers from the Universities of Bologna (Italy) and Marburg (Germany). The event was organized by Innsbruck Decision Sciences and had the support of EPoS, the Faculty of Economics and Statistics and the SFB on Credence Goods, Incentives and Behavior.
Networking Across Disciplines
The research topics were as diverse as they were timely. Presentations covered public acceptance of carbon policies, climate change communication, second-hand consumption preferences, green consumer behavior, and the impact of climate catastrophes on solidarity. Further contributions explored the relationship between firms’ green behavior and media coverage, and the role of attribution to anthropogenic causes in mitigating adverse events.</p><p>Beyond the scientific sessions, lively coffee breaks offered space for informal exchange and networking beyond disciplinary boundaries, sparking synergies between researchers and students and reinforcing the workshop’s interdisciplinary spirit.
The day was closed by a compelling keynote lecture delivered by Professor Alessandro Tavoni (University of Bologna), a leading scholar in environmental economics and vice president of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. His talk focused on social tipping interventions – targeted actions aimed at shifting societal behaviors past a tipping point, after which sustainable change becomes self-reinforcing. Drawing on empirical examples, Professor Tavoni illustrated how such tipping points can catalyze lasting social change. He also outlined current conceptual challenges and offered insights into how the robustness of these interventions might be improved.
Concluding Reflections
The event concluded with a lively Q&A session that seamlessly extended into an informal social gathering, where discussion continued for more than an hour after the official program ended. The Climate Action Workshop once again proved to be a vibrant platform for interdisciplinary exchange, bridging empirical research and policy-relevant insight in the pursuit of more effective and inclusive solutions to the climate crisis.
(Esther Blanco, Natalie Struwe, Julian Benda and Eva Zipperle-Mirwald)