Culture, Carbon, and Climate Change: A Class Analysis of Climate Change Belief, Lifestyle Lock-in, and Personal Carbon Footprint

Abstract

Global climate change is arguably the defining issue of the present age, and high carbon emissions are the major cause of this change. Prior research has shown that carbon emissions are strongly positively associated with household incomes – both in a given nation and between nations. Scholars explain that one of the root causes of this “income-carbon” relationship is lifestyle lock-in: the inability of individuals to change their consumption habits—due to institutionalized structures, contexts, and norms.
Using a United States nationally representative dataset (N=2107), I test whether climate change beliefs moderate the income-carbon relationship (emissions were only examined for personal mobility and dietary carbon footprints). I found a significant positive correlation between climate change beliefs and personal carbon footprints only among one segment of the public—those who are most concerned about climate change (18% of the sample). I also reaffirm the significant positive correlation between household income and carbon emissions—income was the most dominant predictor variable in my analyses. I call for taxes and limits on both income and carbon emissions.