CAST2

Fundamental transformations across society are required to avoid the worst climate-related risks. At the same time, there are huge opportunities to improve society and wellbeing through these transformations. The need for transformation has grown since CAST launched in 2019, with international progress on climate shown to be off-track and UK climate action falling behind the pace required to meet its targets. There remain major social, political and behavioural barriers to tackling climate change. The last five years have seen landmark scientific and policy reports calling for more social and demand-side action to tackle climate change. We have also witnessed major international crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine invasion, cost-of-living crisis and climatic extremes, that have caused tremendous suffering and hardship, disrupted lifestyles, and shed light on how radical change occurs.
Over five years, CAST has become the internationally-renowned global hub for understanding transformation and addressing the fundamental question: how can we live differently – and better – in ways that meet the urgent need for rapid and far-reaching emission reductions? Going beyond disciplinary and theoretical boundaries, we have advanced understanding of how to transform lifestyles, organisations, and social structures in order to achieve a low-carbon, sustainable future. This is still our mission, and the urgency of the need for a new approach to climate policy means we are now particularly focused on translating the weight of evidence into actionable policy and practice.
CAST focuses on people as agents of change in four challenging areas: consumption and waste, food, travel, and heating/cooling. CAST is working across multiple scales (individual, community, organisational, national, and global), to identify and experiment with various routes to achieving lasting change. Our team includes world-leading experts in climate change, lifestyle change and governance, working in partnership with policy-makers, companies, and charities to co-produce and test new ways of engaging with the public, governments and businesses in the UK and internationally. CAST’s research themes recognise that transformative change requires: inspiring yet workable visions of the future (Theme 1); learning from past and current societal shifts (Theme 2); experimenting with novel models of social change (Theme 3); together with a research culture that embodies deep and sustained engagement with communities, business and governments (Theme 4).
Objectives for Phase 2 of CAST are:

To extend and synthesise our research on how to transform behaviour, organisations, and systems of governance to achieve a sustainable, net zero society, including via longitudinal tracking of public engagement and evidence reviews;
To expand our academic and stakeholder partnerships to co-produce new research with diverse funding sources, while continuing to support and develop CAST’s existing staff and students;
To communicate insights and apply tools based on CAST Phase 1 work to accelerate progress towards net zero while delivering wider societal benefits
To convene new stakeholder coalitions to identify opportunities to accelerate action in policy, business, and civil society.

Direct beneficiaries include national, devolved, and local government; as well as business and civil society organisations; and social science communities. With these stakeholders, we will co-produce excellent scientific research, and build capacity for achieving a sustainable, low-carbon society, providing ultimate benefits for wider publics and global communities. Ultimately, our outputs will help the UK achieve its climate and wider sustainability policy goals.