Changing consumer food choices to reduce climate impact – the effects of labels, taxes and nudges

Food production accounts for a significant proportion of total greenhouse gas emissions and consumers’ food choices must change to reduce carbon emissions.

The aim of this project is to investigate how three instruments - climate labels, climate taxes, and climate nudges - can instigate such changes in consumption patterns.

Important questions arise, both theoretically and empirically, regarding the expected effects of these instruments, and whether we can increase the effects by combinations of instruments.Existing methods are inadequate to understand the complex substitution patterns that are required to reduce emissions.

First, I must develop a new empirical choice model to analyze and predict consumer’s food choices.

Second, to explore the effects of climate labels, climate taxes and climate nudges, the empirical choice model is applied to data from economic and field experiments in online settings and in retail stores.The methodological development involves a close collaboration with economists at University of Reading (UK), who are internationally renowned in the field of choice modeling.

This extended visit is instrumental for both the project outcome and my professional development.The results of this project are relevant to policy makers and stakeholders in the food sector, and of practical relevance to retailers and producers that all play an active role in the important task of changing consumer food choices to reduce climate impact.