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international contexts that individuals live in to create a common public space,
within which individuals can act together on a value- and knowledge-based foundation.
Citizenship actions, in general, are acknowledged in the public and private
spheres that affect relations between individuals (private spheres) and societies
(public spheres). Dirk Postma states that ‘the private sphere is celebrated as the
primary space where people are presumed to find ultimate life fulfilment by living
according to their own device, taste, religion, or view on life in the pursuit of happiness’ (Postma 2006, p. 24). Citizenship, as a concept, is about the rights and duties
of individuals in a given political territory such as the state (Dobson 2005). It is a
widely addressed but debated concept, and Environmental Citizenship contributes
to ongoing debates in important ways (MacGregor et al. 2005). The citizenship
theoretician Dobson (2010, p. 6) defines Environmental Citizenship as ‘proenvironmental behaviour, in public and private, driven by a belief in fairness of the
distribution of environmental goods, in participation, and in the co-creation of sustainability policy’. In a narrow sense, environmental behaviour is behaviour that
impacts the environment and is, most straightforwardly, understood in terms of
environmental science or ecology according to its impact on the environment. This
is to the extent where it impacts the availability of resources (material or energy)
from the environment or changes the structure or dynamics of ecosystems or the
biosphere (Krajhanzl 2010; Stern 2000). As people are in an interaction with their
environment almost constantly, almost all human behaviour could be considered
environmental behaviour, whether the influence is direct (e.g. cutting down a forest,
using public transportation instead of private car or riding a bicycle instead of going
by vehicle) or indirect, by influencing the context in which decision-making is conducted (e.g. voting for a public elective who advocates environmental policy, writing a letter to a public servant or government institution). Given that the goal of
sustainability is to achieve a long-term reduction in overall negative environmental
impact, it follows that for a behaviour to be pro-environmental it needs to promote
the attainment of this goal. In order to understand how individual behaviour matters
for the transition to sustainability, it is necessary to comprehensively explain how
individuals may impact the environment, rather than limit the focus to consumption
decisions and related impacts.
Stern (2000) identifies several distinct types of environmentally significant
behaviours and claims that a different combination of causes determines the different types. Figure 8.1 shows Stern’s categories of environmentally significant
behaviours.
According to Stern’s typology, environmental activism behaviours include active
involvement in environmental organisations, demonstrations and campaigns,
participation in pro-environmental social movements and leading environmental
initiatives. Activism is therefore affiliated with the public sphere. Non-activist
behaviours in the public sphere include actions that support public policies (e.g.
explicit support of environmental regulations, willingness to pay higher taxes, fees
or contributions aimed towards environmental protection, voting). Such behaviours
influence the environment indirectly, but the effect may be significant since public
policies can change the behaviour of both individuals and organisations. The private
8 Education for Environmental Citizenship and Responsible Environmental Behaviour
international contexts that individuals live in to create a common public space,
within which individuals can act together on a value- and knowledge-based foundation.
Citizenship actions, in general, are acknowledged in the public and private
spheres that affect relations between individuals (private spheres) and societies
(public spheres). Dirk Postma states that ‘the private sphere is celebrated as the
primary space where people are presumed to find ultimate life fulfilment by living
according to their own device, taste, religion, or view on life in the pursuit of happiness’ (Postma 2006, p. 24). Citizenship, as a concept, is about the rights and duties
of individuals in a given political territory such as the state (Dobson 2005). It is a
widely addressed but debated concept, and Environmental Citizenship contributes
to ongoing debates in important ways (MacGregor et al. 2005). The citizenship
theoretician Dobson (2010, p. 6) defines Environmental Citizenship as ‘proenvironmental behaviour, in public and private, driven by a belief in fairness of the
distribution of environmental goods, in participation, and in the co-creation of sustainability policy’. In a narrow sense, environmental behaviour is behaviour that
impacts the environment and is, most straightforwardly, understood in terms of
environmental science or ecology according to its impact on the environment. This
is to the extent where it impacts the availability of resources (material or energy)
from the environment or changes the structure or dynamics of ecosystems or the
biosphere (Krajhanzl 2010; Stern 2000). As people are in an interaction with their
environment almost constantly, almost all human behaviour could be considered
environmental behaviour, whether the influence is direct (e.g. cutting down a forest,
using public transportation instead of private car or riding a bicycle instead of going
by vehicle) or indirect, by influencing the context in which decision-making is conducted (e.g. voting for a public elective who advocates environmental policy, writing a letter to a public servant or government institution). Given that the goal of
sustainability is to achieve a long-term reduction in overall negative environmental
impact, it follows that for a behaviour to be pro-environmental it needs to promote
the attainment of this goal. In order to understand how individual behaviour matters
for the transition to sustainability, it is necessary to comprehensively explain how
individuals may impact the environment, rather than limit the focus to consumption
decisions and related impacts.
Stern (2000) identifies several distinct types of environmentally significant
behaviours and claims that a different combination of causes determines the different types. Figure 8.1 shows Stern’s categories of environmentally significant
behaviours.
According to Stern’s typology, environmental activism behaviours include active
involvement in environmental organisations, demonstrations and campaigns,
participation in pro-environmental social movements and leading environmental
initiatives. Activism is therefore affiliated with the public sphere. Non-activist
behaviours in the public sphere include actions that support public policies (e.g.
explicit support of environmental regulations, willingness to pay higher taxes, fees
or contributions aimed towards environmental protection, voting). Such behaviours
influence the environment indirectly, but the effect may be significant since public
policies can change the behaviour of both individuals and organisations. The private
8 Education for Environmental Citizenship and Responsible Environmental Behaviour