Social Science is key to effective climate change mitigation: A reply to Nature editorial

In your editorial „How researchers can help fight climate change in 2022 and beyond” you rightly emphasize the value of emerging energy supply and end-use technologies for achieving much needed though highly ambitious GHG emission reductions. However, meeting this goal at the necessary speed is not solely a technical problem. There is a long history of promised technological solutions that never materialized. The same is true of public policy interventions. We can do better by integrating social science knowledge of why such technologies and interventions fall short and how to design implementable and scalable interventions that deliver GHG emission reductions. An integrated approach will enable better informed choices about technical and policy priorities and more effective implementation.