Development of culturally, economically, environmentally and socially acceptable personal carbon budgets (4D-PCB)

Abstract

Climate change is a globally recognised crisis. Climate change is an emergency of such severity that efforts to reduce carbon emissions must come from all levels, government, industry, and individuals must all seek to reduce their emissions to combat climate change.
In the United Kingdom households are the largest contributors to carbon emissions, however current UK policies are ‘top down’ targeting businesses and industry but putting no limit on individual carbon consumption. Behaviour change is required in the public to reduce their carbon emissions. Several Personal Carbon Budget (PCBs) policy interventions have been proposed to reduce personal carbon emissions.
This thesis compared and analysed three main existing proposed models through a PESTLE framework alongside a newly proposed model in this thesis, Personal Carbon Allowance. The new model PCA was found to be the most appropriate model to reduce carbon emissions and ensure all individuals could meet their distinct needs. The similar Personal Carbon Trading model, due to its trading aspect is a regressive model, where those on higher incomes have an advantage. Carbon taxation is a regressive tax and both carbon taxation and carbon labelling have no ‘cap’ on emissions so cannot guarantee the required levels of carbon reduction.
A Multi-Criteria Decision-Making conjoint analysis study was undertaken to identify public preferences on carbon reduction behaviour across demographics and attitudes. Regardless of demographics or degree of ‘green’ attitude the public showed considerable preferences for ‘easier’ options that had lower potential to reduce emissions, than more burdensome changes such as changing their diet or personal travel which have higher potential to reduce emissions. Without an intervention the public seem unlikely to change their behaviour to the degree required to reduce their personal carbon emissions significantly.
A mixed methods carbon reduction behaviour diary study was undertaken to identify the motivations, barriers and challenges people encountered when attempting to reduce their carbon emissions. This study was based on the findings of the PAPRIKA study and using the same categories of behaviour. A new model was developed the CABDI model (CArbon Behaviour DIary model) to facilitate this study. Findings from this study showed the key barriers and challenges were convenience, habit, and consumerism rather than aspects outside of people’s control such as infrastructure. Education and awareness interventions were shown to only have short term effects on participant behaviour. Participants were concerned and anxious about climate change but showed minimal changes in behaviour across the period. However, participants reported a decrease in their carbon footprints from before and after the diary period, demonstrating that a self-monitoring intervention may have influence on carbon reduction behaviour.
As this thesis shows the public are unwilling to change the behaviours that would make the most significant emission reductions with a value-action gap between their stated green attitudes and behaviour. To change public behaviour a ‘bottom up’ policy may be required that enforces changes in behaviour. The only policy intervention identified that is socially just, does not have economic impacts on people on lower incomes, does not create barriers to certain goods or services, whilst delivering the required emissions reductions is the proposed new model Personal Carbon Allowance. As this model includes a hard cap on emissions, provided the cap is appropriate this model could reduce emissions significantly and become a key weapon in the fight to tackle the climate crisis.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Alice Brock: orcid.org/0009-0008-3256-2717

ORCID for Ian Williams: orcid.org/0000-0002-0121-1219

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