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

Abstract

Lifestyle changes are recognized as an important part of climate change mitigation. The influence of climate concern on taking individual actions for climate mitigation is well studied; however, the impact that climate concern has on consumption-based carbon footprints (CBCFs) is less studied. We aim to address this gap by examining the relationship of pro-climate actions, climate motivation, and CBCFs. We utilize data from a carbon footprint calculator with around 8000 responses from residents of the Nordic region. Respondents reported their personal consumption over the past year and answered questions about their participation in pro-climate actions and whether they were motivated by reducing their CBCF. We found that the high-impact actions of avoiding meat and flying had the most impact on CBCFs and had the highest correlation with climate motivation; however, the engagement levels were low. Conversely, the actions with the most participation had a lower impact on CBCFs and correlated less with climate motivation. Although respondents who reported a higher engagement with pro-climate actions and a higher climate motivation generally had lower CBCFs, their footprints were still not compatible with 1.5-degree limits. This study highlights the gap between climate motivation and the level of engagement in high-impact actions necessary for climate-sustainable lifestyles.