{"title":"The misperception of carbon footprints of the rich and the poor","authors":"Laila Nockur , Sergio Pirla , Stefan Pfattheicher","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102545","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Not everyone contributes to climate change to the same extent. While huge inequalities exist in consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions, we show (using a large representative sample, <em>N</em> = 1002) that US residents are largely unaware of the substantial carbon inequality within their country. In fact, 95% of respondents underestimate the carbon footprint of the top 1% consumers. At the same time, people wish for a more equal distribution of carbon footprints. These results were replicated in two independent samples (total <em>N</em> = 1455) and emerged across a range of demographic variables and climate change beliefs. Finally, in two experimental studies (total <em>N</em> = 2408), we demonstrate that learning about carbon inequality increased support for carbon taxes. Overall, the present paper shows that people substantially misperceive the carbon footprint of top consumers. Educating people about carbon inequality leads to support for legislative measures that aim to address overconsumption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48439,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Psychology","volume":"102 ","pages":"Article 102545"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494425000283","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Not everyone contributes to climate change to the same extent. While huge inequalities exist in consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions, we show (using a large representative sample, N = 1002) that US residents are largely unaware of the substantial carbon inequality within their country. In fact, 95% of respondents underestimate the carbon footprint of the top 1% consumers. At the same time, people wish for a more equal distribution of carbon footprints. These results were replicated in two independent samples (total N = 1455) and emerged across a range of demographic variables and climate change beliefs. Finally, in two experimental studies (total N = 2408), we demonstrate that learning about carbon inequality increased support for carbon taxes. Overall, the present paper shows that people substantially misperceive the carbon footprint of top consumers. Educating people about carbon inequality leads to support for legislative measures that aim to address overconsumption.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Environmental Psychology is the premier journal in the field, serving individuals in a wide range of disciplines who have an interest in the scientific study of the transactions and interrelationships between people and their surroundings (including built, social, natural and virtual environments, the use and abuse of nature and natural resources, and sustainability-related behavior). The journal publishes internationally contributed empirical studies and reviews of research on these topics that advance new insights. As an important forum for the field, the journal publishes some of the most influential papers in the discipline that reflect the scientific development of environmental psychology. Contributions on theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of all human-environment interactions are welcome, along with innovative or interdisciplinary approaches that have a psychological emphasis. Research areas include: •Psychological and behavioral aspects of people and nature •Cognitive mapping, spatial cognition and wayfinding •Ecological consequences of human actions •Theories of place, place attachment, and place identity •Environmental risks and hazards: perception, behavior, and management •Perception and evaluation of buildings and natural landscapes •Effects of physical and natural settings on human cognition and health •Theories of proenvironmental behavior, norms, attitudes, and personality •Psychology of sustainability and climate change •Psychological aspects of resource management and crises •Social use of space: crowding, privacy, territoriality, personal space •Design of, and experiences related to, the physical aspects of workplaces, schools, residences, public buildings and public space
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