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On the relationship between individual carbon literacy and carbon footprint components

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  • Schleich, Joachim
  • Dütschke, Elisabeth
  • Kanberger, Elke
  • Ziegler, Andreas

Abstract

To mitigate climate change, individual greenhouse gas emissions need to decline substantially. This paper empirically explores the relationship between individual carbon footprints and carbon literacy as well as socio-economic and attitudinal factors. To operationalize carbon literacy, we distinguish between carbon knowledge and carbon engagement. Our econometric analysis uses widely representative survey data for 1000 individuals in Germany and distinguishes between components of an aggregate carbon footprint and of carbon footprints related with electricity consumption, heating, motorized individual transport, aviation, and dietary choices. We find a negative and sizeable correlation between carbon engagement and the aggregate footprint, as well as the footprints related to electricity consumption and diet. For example, a one-unit increase in our index reflecting carbon engagement corresponds to a decrease in the aggregate carbon footprint of about 4%. Furthermore, for carbon knowledge we find a negative correlation with the carbon footprint from diet. We also find significant correlations between the carbon footprints and gender, age, income, education, environmental preferences, and policy orientation, which generally exhibit the intuitively expected signs, but differ somewhat across activities. Overall, our findings support the notion that fostering carbon engagement represents a more effective strategy for reducing individuals' carbon footprints than enhancing carbon knowledge.

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  • Schleich, Joachim & Dütschke, Elisabeth & Kanberger, Elke & Ziegler, Andreas, 2024. "On the relationship between individual carbon literacy and carbon footprint components," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:218:y:2024:i:c:s0921800923003634
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.108100
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    1. Schleich, Joachim & Alsheimer, Sven, 2024. "The relationship between willingness to pay and carbon footprint knowledge: Are individuals willing to pay more to offset their carbon footprint if they learn about its size and distance to the 1.5 °C," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    2. Sarah Olson & Małgorzata Szafraniec & Jukka Heinonen & Áróra Árnadóttir, 2024. "Concerned about Climate Change and Ready to Take Action? An Analysis of the Pro-Climate Actions Individuals Are Motivated to Take to Lower Their Carbon Footprints," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-29, August.
    3. Sema Üstgörül & Bülent Akkaya & Maria Palazzo & Alessandra Micozzi, 2024. "Development and Validation of Carbon Footprint Awareness Scale for Boosting Sustainable Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-16, September.

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