Project description
Understanding firms’ beliefs about decarbonisation
Achieving a low-carbon society requires substantial investment, and firms’ expectations play a critical role in shaping that transition. However, major knowledge gaps remain in understanding how these expectations form and how they can be aligned with climate goals. The ERC-funded BELIEFS project is developing an analytical framework that explores the interplay between firms’ beliefs, their investment decisions, and climate policy strategies. It will build a dynamic transition model that captures how expectations evolve and influence one another over time. It will gather original data through surveys and experiments, including a large-scale survey offering insight into how transition-related expectations affect economic behaviour. Findings will be valuable for designing policies that align investor beliefs with climate objectives.
Objective
The transition to a low-carbon society, as mandated by the Paris Agreement and recent net-zero targets, requires a significant expansion and reallocation of physical investments. Investment choices crucially depend on firms expectations and beliefs. However, profound knowledge gaps exist regarding transition-related expectations: current modelling frameworks lack the capability to fully assess their impact on transition dynamics; empirical evidence on their distribution is scarce; and there is limited comprehension of their evolution drivers and how to align them effectively with climate targets. Misalignment of expectations can lead to failed or disorderly decarbonisation pathways. The BELIEFS project will lay the foundations of a novel analytical framework capable of shedding light on the complex interaction between firms beliefs, investment decision-making and climate policy strategies, so as to identify credible paths to a net-zero society. The project will deliver a methodological breakthrough by developing a dynamic transition model with a realistic representation of expectations as heterogeneous, evolving and interdependent. The design and calibration of the model will be informed by extensive data collection efforts, including original surveys and experiments. A large-scale survey of firms will produce the first comprehensive empirical assessment of transition-related expectations and their impact on economic decisions. The results of the project will be pivotal in identifying effective policy and institutional strategies to ensure alignment of beliefs, thereby enabling a swift and orderly decarbonisation process. Over the course of five years, BELIEFS aims to offer pioneering interdisciplinary contributions to advance our understanding of the macro-behavioural dimensions of low-carbon transitions, integrating elements from climate economics, transition theory, behavioural sciences and political economy.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
40126 Bologna
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.