Sabine Pahl
Sabine Pahl
MSc PhD
Professor of Urban and Environmental Psychology
Lead of the Environmental Behaviour Group
+43-1-4277-47150
ORCID
Prof. Sabine Pahl, MSc PhD Sabine Pahl is a social psychologist who conducts both basic and applied research. Her applied work focuses on the human dimension of environmental issues. She investigates perceptions and behavioural change, particularly in the areas of marine conservation, marine litter and microplastics, and energy efficiency.
Other applied work examines the restorative effects of natural environments, including the use of natural environments in healthcare. Sabine has been involved in research projects funded by EPSRC, ESRC, DEFRA, DECC, NERC, UNEP, FP7, Interreg and H2020. She has more than 120 peer-reviewed publications (Google h-index = 57), including a summary of 20 years of microplastics research in Science in 2024. She is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Environmental Psychology and Environment & Behaviour, as well as the journal Microplastics and Nanoplastics. She is also co-editor of the Diamond Open Access journal Global Environmental Psychology.
Her projects typically involve research and application in interdisciplinary teams. She is active in the science-policy interface at national, European and international level, always bringing psychological and behavioural science perspectives to the table.
At the international level, she has contributed to two reports on microplastics with the Joint Expert Group on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP WG40) and led a UNEP-funded global inventory of measures against plastic pollution in 2020. She co-chaired an interdisciplinary working group that reported to the EU Scientific Advisors Panel (SAPEA, 2019) and has contributed to G7 and WHO working groups.
Curriculum Vitae
Publications
2026
Fried, N., Wala, A., Elliott, L. R., Pahl, S., Arnberger, A., Bell, S., Bratman, G. N., Browning, M. H. E. M., Fleming, L. E., Grellier, J., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Ojala, A., Roiko, A., van den Bosch, M., Wheeler, B. W., & White, M. P. (2026). The restorative power of blue spaces: A 19-country study. Landscape and Urban Planning, 276, Article 105739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2026.105739
White, M. P., Egger, J. A. M., Amato, G., Astell-Burt, T., Bekke-Hansen, S., Borja, A., Burov, A., Busse, S., Costongs, C., Dimitrova, D., Doimo, I., Dzhambov, A. M., Elliott, L. R., Godfrey, A., Grellier, J., Hartig, T., Hartl, A., Nyed, P. K., Konijnendijk, C., ... van den Bosch, M. (2026). Testing nature-based biopsychosocial resilience theory: a research programme protocol. Archives of Public Health, 84(1), Article 90. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-026-01903-5
Hampejs, V., Wala, A., Tran, U. S., Pahl, S., Egger, J. A. M., Voracek, M., & White, M. P. (2026). Health and well-being in nature: Analysis of 18,054 visit reports and implications for nature-based biopsychosocial resilience theory (NBRT). Journal of Environmental Psychology, 110, Article 102918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102918
Köhler, J. K., Fian, L., White, M., Nijssen, S., & Pahl, S. (2026). Actively distancing from climate radicals improves public support for moderate climate activists. Communications Psychology, 4(55). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-026-00412-z
Fian, L., Vaupotič, N., Richter, I., Koelmans, A. A., & Pahl, S. (2026). Communicating scientific uncertainties: Effects of message and audience characteristics in the context of microplastic health risks. Public Understanding of Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625251410494