CAPS and the town council have been promoting the home carbon calculator. After all, it would be good for our pockets to know how much heat our houses are losing.
And so, one of the the Four Aims of CAPS is “to help households reduce their carbon footprint” – and “to explain when this can help save individuals money.”
It’s also a question of personal responsibility – as “unless people change their behaviors, we won’t hit 2050 net zero emissions targets.”
But is that right – or was the ‘carbon footprint’ co-opted by fossil fuel companies to shift climate blame on to consumers?
This might sound like a piece of conspiracy theorising – but it’s posed by Professor of Energy and Environmental Engineering at the University of Bath Marcelle McManus, writing in The Conversation.
Here’s the beginning and end of her piece from 2022:
The ‘carbon footprint’ was co-opted by fossil fuel companies to shift climate blame – here’s how it can serve us again
Last year, an article in the Guardian highlighted the influence oil companies have had on the carbon footprint’s growing popularity. Its main message was that the idea of measuring personal carbon footprints – in other words, calculating the emissions we’re responsible for as individuals – was originally promoted by oil giant BP to shift the burden of action (and blame) from fossil fuel companies to consumers.
In many respects, this tactic worked. Free carbon footprinting tools became common, and people even began to rank them for ease, accuracy and reliability. For example, this calculator by the World Wildlife Fund tells me my footprint in tonnes, as well as which parts of my lifestyle are the main contributors to it.
Compared with others in the UK, my footprint is relatively low. This is partly because I work in sustainability for a living, so I keep my heating down low, I use solar panels to generate electricity and I try to walk as much as I can. In global terms, however, my footprint is pretty big, and to avoid the worst effects of climate change it needs to get smaller quickly. At least, that’s the message being sent by many NGOs, politicians and climate activists – among others.
Here lies the problem: it may no longer be in anyone’s personal capacity to make changes great enough to reverse the damage already done. In a world where just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions, we need a total overhaul of the carbon-intensive systems around us instead...
Making change
Instead, these tools can be used to develop more sustainable fuels by identifying and addressing “hot spots” of carbon emission in the fuel production process. They can also be used to show where we can most effectively reduce the negative effects of plastic proliferation through increasing recycling in those areas.
Carbon footprint analysis can equally be used on global businesses to show where their carbon outputs are really coming from. For example, a recent report shows how the footprints of ten of the largest tech companies including Google and PayPal are largely caused by their investments supporting the fossil fuel industry, leading to calls for divestment.
Of course, we shouldn’t totally dissociate ourselves from responsibility. Carbon footprints can still be used to assess our own purchase, investment and leisure choices to great effect. But on top of this, carbon footprint calculations should be used by industries and governments to prove they’re making the necessary changes to cut embedded emissions and keep more carbon in the ground. Making footprints public could also put financial and legislative pressure on companies and systems with the greatest climate influence. The carbon footprint has real power: let’s aim it where it’ll be most effective.
It’s not just about individuals and companies and governments taking responsibility.
Here’s Sidmouth’s footprint – showing that as communities we have an impact and showing what we can focus on:
Finally, here’s a list of pieces from the last couple of years looking at the issue of ‘responsibility’:
Fossil fuel companies claim they’re helping fight climate change. The reality is different. – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [December 2019]
Who is really to blame for climate change? – BBC Future [June 2020]
Big oil distracts from their carbon footprint by tricking you to focus on yours | CLEAR Center [October 2020]
BP’s biggest sham: the insidious backstory behind the “carbon footprint” [April 2021]
Big oil coined ‘carbon footprints’ to blame us for their greed. Keep them on the hook | Rebecca Solnit | The Guardian [August 2021]
How companies blame you for climate change – BBC Future [May 2022]
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