Last Friday, the Ministry of Climate launched its campaign "Small Step, Big Change," which aims to boost people's personal contributions to the fight against climate change.

According to ministry green transition and climate communications adviser Karoli Noor, the campaign was inspired by a Eurobarometer survey which revealed that 49 percent of Estonian residents are contributing to the fight against climate change – a figure placing Estonia toward the bottom of a ranking of EU's 27 member states at 22nd.

The campaign calls on people to put their usual routine to the test and do things differently for at least one week. One such example is to not buy anything new.

"[Not buying new] will reduce waste generation and conserve natural resources as well as production energy," reads both the campaign's info page as well as a concise, text-only paid ad run by the ministry in a recent edition of Estonian social magazine Kroonika. "For example, it takes about 10,000 liters of water to produce one pair of jeans! By buying second-hand or repairing things, you're helping conserve natural resources."

The campaign also recommends eating vegetarian at least one day a week.

"The meat industry is resource-intensive and produces greenhouse gases," it highlights. "By opting for a vegetarian meal, you reduce the negative environmental impact of your diet. Replace meat in dishes with legumes or mushrooms."

Estonia's Ministry of Climate also recommends people spend time in nature and learn to identify plant, insect and animal species in order to be able to recognize the impacts of climate change in the form of harmful invasive species.

According to the communications adviser, however, campaigns alone won't change people's behaviors.

"The national plan to reduce climate change isn't launching a campaign urging people to drive less; the crux of the green transition is that we're going to create opportunities for making better choices," Noor told ERR. "Instead of telling people they should take the bus, we're investing in opportunities to get around better by public transport and bike."

The ministry has no plans for further future major behavior change campaigns.

"Estonia wants to be climate neutral by 2050, and that will also necessitate some behavioral changes," she explained. "We're not planning on big campaigns to do so in the long term, but this is supportive. Above all, people's behavior still has to be nudged with substantive things."

According to Noor, the current campaign cost the ministry €17,000.

Last fall, the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture commissioned a more than €16,000 information campaign from PR agency Alfa-Omega Communications to call attention to the excessive consumption of additives in people's diets. Part of the campaign involved sending journalists press invites in the form of packaged foods.

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