Effective climate policy starts with understanding how real people decide

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About the research

Why do climate policies sometimes fail? The Yellow Vest movement in France showed us: even well-intentioned policies, like fuel taxes to cut emissions, can backfire if they ignore how people actually make decisions. Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman proved it: our choices aren’t always logical.

What if we could test policies before rolling them out? Guillermo Borragan’s research team uses behavioral science and computer modeling to create virtual households that simulate how different groups respond to subsidies, taxes, or renovation programs. The result? Smarter, more effective climate policies that save public money and work with human behavior.

Because better climate policy isn't just about technology or economics, it's about people. 
 

Sustainability
Energy
Guillermo Borragán
VITO

Guillermo Borragán is a cognitive environmental scientist who works on making communities more sustainable by combining technology, energy savings, and human behavior. His focus is on understanding what motivates people to save energy, ensuring that sustainable projects last in the long run.

Before joining VITO - EnergyVille in 2019, he earned his PhD by studying how brain activity and economic models can explain human performance. Today, he uses this unique mix of expertise to create smart, people-focused solutions for a greener future.

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