"I'll take the easiest option please". Carbon reduction preferences of the public
"I'll take the easiest option please". Carbon reduction preferences of the public
The depth and breadth of the climate crisis is well known, all sectors, industry, government and the individual have the potential to reduce emissions to slow or stop catastrophic climate change. To determine and evaluate the (revealed) preferences of the public in reducing their personal carbon emissions, a conjoint analysis survey, using the PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise RanKings of all possible Alternatives) method, was distributed to the public in a city in the south of England (Southampton). Knowledge of the deep-seated preferences of the public makes a fundamental contribution to future climate actions because it enables publicly acceptable system change to be developed.Results showed the public were unwilling to make large-scale lifestyle changes, even if they would cause large emission reductions. There was a clear preference for making relatively easy, convenient changes to behaviour rather than making more difficult personal lifestyle changes involving diet and transportation. A significant value-action gap is evident, with the public showing high awareness of the seriousness of climate change but showing an unwillingness to make deep cuts to their personal emissions. Demography and personal factors had a relatively low influence over preferences with trends generally staying the same across demographic groups, aside from income brackets. Participants believed that reductions in emissions should come from a ‘group effort’ from all levels of government, business, environmental groups and individuals. Few participants placed themselves as individual drivers of carbon emission reduction. In order to reduce emissions some form of intervention needs to be made, as the public are not personally willing to make large-scale reductions in carbon emissions, regardless of their environmental awareness or demography.
Carbon behaviour, Climate Change, Convinience, Social, Sustainability, Environment, Conjoint analysis, Behaviour change, Greenhouse gases, Carbon emissions
Brock, Alice
506feb54-f65a-46f1-b5fb-9ba4ac6e9b16
Williams, Ian
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Kemp, Simon
942b35c0-3584-4ca1-bf9e-5f07790d6e36
1 December 2023
Brock, Alice
506feb54-f65a-46f1-b5fb-9ba4ac6e9b16
Williams, Ian
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Kemp, Simon
942b35c0-3584-4ca1-bf9e-5f07790d6e36
Brock, Alice, Williams, Ian and Kemp, Simon
(2023)
"I'll take the easiest option please". Carbon reduction preferences of the public.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 429, [139398].
(doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139398).
Abstract
The depth and breadth of the climate crisis is well known, all sectors, industry, government and the individual have the potential to reduce emissions to slow or stop catastrophic climate change. To determine and evaluate the (revealed) preferences of the public in reducing their personal carbon emissions, a conjoint analysis survey, using the PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise RanKings of all possible Alternatives) method, was distributed to the public in a city in the south of England (Southampton). Knowledge of the deep-seated preferences of the public makes a fundamental contribution to future climate actions because it enables publicly acceptable system change to be developed.Results showed the public were unwilling to make large-scale lifestyle changes, even if they would cause large emission reductions. There was a clear preference for making relatively easy, convenient changes to behaviour rather than making more difficult personal lifestyle changes involving diet and transportation. A significant value-action gap is evident, with the public showing high awareness of the seriousness of climate change but showing an unwillingness to make deep cuts to their personal emissions. Demography and personal factors had a relatively low influence over preferences with trends generally staying the same across demographic groups, aside from income brackets. Participants believed that reductions in emissions should come from a ‘group effort’ from all levels of government, business, environmental groups and individuals. Few participants placed themselves as individual drivers of carbon emission reduction. In order to reduce emissions some form of intervention needs to be made, as the public are not personally willing to make large-scale reductions in carbon emissions, regardless of their environmental awareness or demography.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 17 October 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 November 2023
Published date: 1 December 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by The South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership who fund AB's studentship [grant number: 2342054 ].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
Keywords:
Carbon behaviour, Climate Change, Convinience, Social, Sustainability, Environment, Conjoint analysis, Behaviour change, Greenhouse gases, Carbon emissions
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 484251
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/484251
ISSN: 0959-6526
PURE UUID: 4ade6d39-287c-418d-9a47-a3ccecc6ed28
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Date deposited: 13 Nov 2023 18:50
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:00
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