Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-17 (section)

==== 17.4.5.1 Urgency ====

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Urgency can catalyse action for individuals and organisations. A moderate level of urgency serves as an important driver of climate action, but both high and low levels of urgency impede response ( ''high confidence'' ). [[#Wilson--2021|Wilson and Orlove (2021)]] review 5 experimental and 20 observational papers that examine the relationship between urgency and levels of response in climate decision-making, across a range of settings: from individuals and households to communities, managed ecosystems, sub-national regions and international river basin. Urgency in the papers is defined primarily through objective and subjective time pressure, including the recognition of the costs of delaying action and the importance of using windows of opportunity during which new forms and higher levels of response are possible. All the experimental papers and all but three of the observational papers provide support for an inverted U-shaped relationship between urgency and response intensity (including motivation and action), with higher levels of response at intermediate levels of urgency and lower levels of response at low or high levels of urgency (Figure 17.9). The general shape of this relationship also is supported for other decision domains by a well-established line of research within psychology ( [[#Heitz--2014|Heitz, 2014]] ; [[#Zakay--2014|Zakay, 2014]] ; [[#Prem--2017|Prem et al., 2017]] ).

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'''Figure 17.9 |''' '''A moderate level of urgency serves as an important driver of climate action, but both high and low levels of urgency impede response (derived from [[#Wilson--2021|Wilson and Orlove, 2021]] ).'''

The synthesis of the studies on urgency offers two central lessons for policymakers, community groups and others involved in addressing climate change. First, greater levels of response to climate change-induced challenges can be motivated by communication strategies that move decision makers from low to moderate levels of urgency ( ''high confidence'' ). In the case of drought, a number of studies show that urgent messages promote water conservation, especially when these messages are repeated, perceived as trustworthy and linked to concrete suggestions for action ( [[#Gonzales--2017|Gonzales and Ajami, 2017]] ; [[#Joubert--2019|Joubert and]] [[#Ziervogel--2019|Ziervogel, 2019]] ; [[#Kam--2019|Kam et al., 2019]] ; [[#Booysen--2019a|Booysen et al., 2019a]] ; [[#Booysen--2019b|Booysen et al., 2019b]] ; [[#Bolorinos--2020|Bolorinos et al., 2020]] ). These effects are also demonstrated in experimental studies of adaptation planning in contexts including European flood preparations ( [[#Madsen--2019|Madsen et al., 2019]] ; [[#Pot--2019|Pot et al., 2019]] ) and Pacific Island coastal planning ( [[#Donner--2014|Donner and Webber, 2014]] ).

Second, very high levels of urgency are a barrier to effective action ( ''medium confidence'' ) because last-minute actions to reduce risk during crises can create haste and panic, often leading to insufficient deliberation. In these cases, decision makers fail to consider a full range of alternative actions, make rash choices and poorly mobilise available resources ( [[#Asfaw--2019|Asfaw et al., 2019]] ; [[#Robins--2019|Robins, 2019]] ; [[#Gee--2020|Gee, 2020]] ). Given that climate decision makers in many regions and sectors are experiencing greater pressure to act, this finding suggests the existence of windows for planning and action during which climate risks have led to moderate levels of urgency, but before these risks have resulted in urgency exceeding some upper threshold ( [[#17.4.5.2|Section 17.4.5.2]] ).

In addition, these studies point to potential weaknesses as well as strengths in strategic communication to modulate urgency. Such messages may instead lead to lower levels of response if they induce very high levels of urgency ( [[#Asfaw--2019|Asfaw et al., 2019]] ), though this effect may be somewhat mitigated by messages that simultaneously increase recipients’ sense of self-efficacy or they are experienced in the specific risk domain discussed in the messages ( [[#Bodin--2019|Bodin et al., 2019]] ). Future research on the relationships between urgency and effective risk management could help refine the measurement of urgency, how the relationship varies in different contexts, the role of different forms of messaging about urgency and action ( [[#Fesenfeld--2021|Fesenfeld and Rinscheid, 2021]] ), and the effects of urgency on decision-making by high-level decision makers within polities and by climate social movements.

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