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One behavioral scientist's way to bring joy to climate action

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode The great food rescue

When we think of climate action, we often think of sacrifice: less driving, less meat, less shopping. Behavioral scientist Jiaying Zhao challenges this notion with "happy climate hacks."

About Jiaying Zhao

Jiaying Zhao (known as "JZ") has pioneered behavioral interventions to encourage climate action, recycling, composting and biodiversity conservation. An early immigrant from Hangzhou, China, she ventured to Dublin, Ireland, to pursue her BA and MA in cognitive science and compl

eted her PhD in c

ognitive psychology at Princeton University. She currently serves as an associate professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, working in the department of psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability.

Zhao is a Killam Research Prize recipient and a faculty affiliate at the Center for Effective Global Action at University of California, Berkeley. She has advised a dozen government organizations, including the Privy Council Office, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and Policy Horizons Canada.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Fiona Geiran and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Web Resources

Related TED Bio: Jiaying Zhao

TED Talk: The surprising climate benefits of sharing your stuff

TED Talk: A world without waste

Related NPR Links

NPR's Climate Solutions Week

Here's how to turn climate change anxiety into action

Good news about tackling climate change

Copyright 2024 NPR

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.