Homophily and wealth inequality shape mitigation behavior in coupled social-climate models

Abstract Understanding the role of human behavior in shaping environmental outcomes is crucial for addressing global challenges such as climate change. Environmental systems are influenced not only by natural factors like temperature, but also by human decisions regarding mitigation efforts, which are often based on forecasts or predictions about future environmental conditions. Over time, different outcomes can emerge, including scenarios where the environment deteriorates despite efforts to mitigate, or where successful mitigation leads to environmental resilience. Additionally, fluctuations in the level of human participation in mitigation can occur, reflecting shifts in collective behavior. In this study, we consider a variety of human mitigation decisions, in addition to the feedback loop that is created by changes in human behavior because of environmental changes. While these outcomes are based on simplified models, they offer important insights into the dynamics of human decision-making and the factors that influence effective action in the context of environmental sustainability. This study aims to examine key social dynamics influencing society’s response to a worsening climate. While others conclude that homophily prompts greater warming unconditionally, this model finds that homophily can prevent catastrophic effects given a poor initial environmental state. Assuming that poor countries have the resources to do so, a consensus in that class group to defect from the strategy of the rich group (who are generally incentivized to continue ‘business as usual’) can frequently prevent the vegetation proportion from converging to 0.