Mainstreaming Integrated Assessment Models by embedding behavioural change and actor heterogeneity, and increasing their outreach to citizens, communities and industrial actors

Project Information

CHOICE

Grant agreement ID: 101081617

DOI

10.3030/101081617

EC signature date 29 October 2023

Start date 1 November 2023

End date 31 October 2026

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 4 936 472,51

EU contribution

€ 4 936 472,50

Coordinated by

EREVNITIKO PANEPISTIMIAKO INSTITOUTO SYSTIMATON EPIKOINONION KAI YPOLOGISTON
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CHOICE (Mainstreaming Integrated Assessment Models by embedding behavioural change and actor heterogeneity, and increasing their outreach to citizens, communities and industrial actors)

Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2025-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

CHOICE aims to mainstream Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) by improving their representation of behavioural change and actor heterogeneity, yielding them more accessible to citizens, communities, and industry actors. The project further develops a new generation of IAMs that have the capacity to capture the complexity of food systems, by integrating socio-psychological factors and diverse consumer profiles across age, gender, geography, and socioeconomic status.
The project conducts large-scale demonstrations in five countries (Austria, Spain, Greece, Colombia, South Africa) using digital tools, serious games, and data storytelling to promote climate-smart food choices. It aims to drive impact by developing accessible IAM interfaces, running behavioural change campaigns, and delivering policy recommendations aligned with the European Green Deal and Paris Agreement.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

WP1 organised regular plenary meetings, including the Kick-off in Athens and the General Assembly in Vienna, and maintained strong consortium cohesion during RP1. A comprehensive Risk and Quality Management Plan was developed and was approved by the Project Board (MS1), while two versions of the Data Management Plan (D1.1 D1.3) ensured FAIR principles compliance. WP2 led by ATHENA, carried out a comprehensive stakeholder mapping under Task 2.1 resulting in D2.1 which categorised key actors across the food value chain. As part of Task 2.2 13 participatory labs were organised across all pilot countries, engaging over 100 unique stakeholders, with adaptations made for local contexts. Task 2.3 produced D2.2 outlining the campaign design framework, while Task 2.4 delivered D2.3 detailing the A/B testing infrastructure to support behavioural intervention strategies. Additionally, Milestone MS2 was successfully submitted on time in Month 18.
WP3, led by IIASA, updated and validated the GLOBIOM baseline diets for all CHOICE pilot countries, incorporating heterogeneous consumer data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Global Dietary Database (GDD). In T3.2 the FeliX model is undergoing regionalisation in order to capture socioeconomic differences across five world regions and enhancement through the integration of lifestyle frameworks that are able to capture the social dynamics of behavioural change across four lifestyle categories. T3.3 enhanced the FABLE-Calculator with undernourishment indicators and refined livestock-specific emission factors. T3.4 developed the first version of CHOICE interactive simulation environments (FeliX and FABLE-Calculator dashboards) and submitted Deliverables D3.1 and D3.2 in M18.
WP4 reviewed and categorised over 200 digital tools under T4.1 (D4.1) publishing the results on Zenodo. In T4.2 ICCS designed the “Shrink Your Food Waste” app, incorporating Inoqo’s LCA-based CO2 data. T4.3 released the Climate Survivors game demo on Steam and Itch, reaching over 10,000 people. Under T4.4 LIBRA developed the data storytelling methodology and produced the first CHOICE data story portfolio, resulting in the timely submission of Milestone MS4.
WP5 laid the scientific groundwork for assessing food system transformations by co-developing scenario narratives with IAM modelers (T5.1 D5.1) using the FABLE-Calculator. Key advances included NOA’s spatial climate indices for the Spanish olive oil sector and the integration of GLOBIOM's spatial land-use change capabilities via DownscalR. Under T5.2 IIASA and SDSN collaborated to refine methods linking food system changes to land-use transitions and ecosystem service impacts.
WP6 laid the essential groundwork for the pilot demonstrations. In particular, T6.1 developed comprehensive pilot action plans (D6.1) for all five demonstration sites. Three strategic clusters were formed: Spain-Colombia, Austria-Greece, and South Africa, facilitating knowledge exchange and methodological alignment. All five pilot sites have initiated their preparatory activities (execution of participatory labs etc.) and are fully set for the demonstration phase to launch in Month 22.
WP7 established CHOICE's dissemination, exploitation and communication framework, launching the website in M3 and generating 378 social media posts with over 83,000 impressions. Key deliverables (D7.2 D7.3) outlined the communication and dissemination strategy, supported by the CHOICE Ambassador Program and partnerships with networks like GEOGLAM and EO4SDG. CHOICE also began joint dissemination with SISTER projects OrganicClimateNET, NEVERMORE, and ClieNFarms. Preliminary list of Key Exploitable Results (KERs)as well as Common and Individual Exploitation Plans were established. Lean Business Model Canvas for selected KERs were created.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

CHOICE has advanced the state-of-the-art in Integrated Assessment Modelling by enhancing the GLOBIOM model to incorporate actor heterogeneity, allowing consumption patterns to be differentiated by age, gender, education, and location. This increased granularity enables more realistic projections of dietary shifts and their climate impacts. Furthermore, rather than treating low-carbon behaviors such as dietary shifts or waste reduction as isolated behaviors, the FeliX lifestyle framework captures these as integrated lifestyle choices. The model's ability to simulate how these lifestyle categories evolve under different socioeconomic scenarios provides policy-makers with more realistic assessments of the feasible pace of societal transformation. In the FABLE-C, users can now select which reference data on GHG emissions they will be using to calibrate their model. As this is refined this will allow users to shift to a higher up Tier methodology when data is available.
In addition, CHOICE democratises access to complex climate models through its Interactive Simulation Environments (ISE). These web-based tools allow non-expert stakeholders, from local policymakers to food industry representatives, to explore climate scenarios and test interventions in real-time. This represents a fundamental shift from IAMs as black-box tools accessible only to specialised researchers to transparent, user-friendly instruments for participatory decision-making. The serious game developed under WP4, Climate Survivors, further extends this democratisation, reaching audiences who would never engage with traditional climate science communication.

CHOICE tools

Pilot Enablers