Interview Guide: Identifying "Sludge" in Climate Action

Citation

Martin L & Lades L (2024) Interview Guide: Identifying "Sludge" in Climate Action. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/32WTA

Abstract
“Sludge” is excessive or unnecessary friction that makes it harder for people to do what they want or whatis good for them. Sludge can take many forms, such as complex or confusing eligibility rules for a home retrofitting scheme, time-consuming paperwork to get a permission to build wind farms, frustrating interactions with online government systems or service providers, or delays and uncertainty when applying for a forestry licence. The Irish EPA-funded ABICAP project (Administrative Burdens as Barriers to Implementation of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan) investigates whether sludge creates unnecessary frictionand is thus a reasonfor the gap between climate aspirations and climate actions. To identify sludge that is relevant for climate action, qualitative interviews provide an important source of information. This document provides a guide to conduct such interviews following four steps: conducting a scoping exercise to see if sludge is relevant to the target climateaction; drafting a “user behavioural journey” to help prepare for the interview; identifying and recruiting a range of impacted stakeholders; and finally interviewing stakeholders, using the proposed structure and questions.