A review of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Behaviour Change Interventions for Pro-environmental Behaviour

Presentaion ID - 63 Oral presentations: Equity, inclusion, place and vulnerable communitiesConference Day 3: Friday 19 June 2026, 09:00 Abstract Rationale: Pro-environmental behaviour interventions (PEBIs) challenge the view that climate change is predominantly a governmental or industrial problem of high-income societies, highlighting the importance of daily choices by individuals and communities across the globe. Alongside growth in theory and practice, evidence syntheses have sought to determine which PEBs work for whom and in which contexts. However, findings remain dispersed across disciplines, methods and settings, while the evidence base is skewed towards western or high-income countries. Many of the climate-affected regions, however, remain under-developed and under-represented. To our knowledge, no synthesis has yet examined whether PEBIs are designed to account for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in order to benefit diverse populations. This gap matters, given the disproportionate distribution of climate risks, which demands contextually relevant interventions. Methods: This abstract reports on an ongoing PROSPERO-registered umbrella review of systematic reviews on PEBIs (CRD42023453822), conducted by the working group (WG3) for short-term interventions to shift societal behavior, in the framework of the COST Action on “Climate Change Impacts on Mental Health in Europe (CliMent)”. A search retrieved 1,165 records from four academic databases (405 duplicates), while title and abstract screening was performed on 760 articles. A total of 25 reviews were considered for full-text screening (ongoing at time of submission), while data extraction will be guided by the COM-B and the PRO-EDI framework. Special emphasis will be placed on sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, and geographic location. Findings & Conclusion: The broader umbrella review carried out within WG3 CliMent maps behaviour change intervention strategies for climate action. Here, we utilize the COM-B and the PRO-EDI framework to assess how EDI is considered. We examine the origins of the systematic reviews (by country and affiliation of first authors), as well as reported sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, disability, location). This analysis focuses specifically on emerging patterns in EDI-related reporting and representation within the included reviews. This work contributes to identifying equity gaps in the design, evaluation and synthesis of PEBIs and reflects on the utility of using EDI frameworks in sustainability-focused behaviour change research.