Goodmorningeverybody!It'smyhonortospeakhere,andIamverygladtosharemytopicwithyou.ThentodayI'dliketotalksomethingaboutPublicengagementwithcarbonandclimatechange:Towhatextentisthepublic‘carboncapable’?

Asweknow,thephenomenonofclimatechangeforsocietyseemsclear:muchevidenceshowsasignificanthumancontributionincausingclimatechange,andtheimpactswillincrease.Inordertoreducegreenhousegas(GHG)emissions,thereisanurgentneedtounderstandandenablesocietalengagementinmitigation.Yetrecentresearchindicatesthatthisinvolvementiscurrentlylimited:althoughawarenessofclimatechangeiswidespread,understandingandbehavioralengagementarefarlower.Proposalsformitigative‘personalcarbonbudgets’implyaneedforpublicunderstandingofthecausesandconsequencesofcarbonemissions,aswellastheabilitytoreduceemissions.However,littlehasbeendonetoconsiderthesituatedmeaningsofcarbonandenergyineverydaylifeanddecisions.

Now,let’sgotothefirstpart.Thestructureofthepaper.Itincludesfiveparts.

Thefirstisbackground.Nestisclimatechange,carboncapability,thethirdisdevelopingcarboncapability,fourthisexploringthecarboncapability,thelastoneisconclusion.

Ok,letmeintroducethebackgroundatfirst.SomefindingsfromaUKsurveyofpublicengagementwithclimatechangeandcarboncapability,focusingonbothindividualandinstitutionaldimensions.Thesefindingshighlightthediversepublicunderstandingsabout‘carbon’,encompassingtechnical,social,andmoraldiscourses;andprovidefurtherevidencefortheenvironmentalvalue-actiongapinrelationtoadoptionoflow-carbonlifestyles.Implicationsofthesefindingsforpromotingpublicengagementwithclimatechangeandcarboncapabilityarediscussed.

Butwhatistheclimatechange?Climatechangeisanissuewhichposesmajorchallengestocommunicatorsandeducators.Itisariskinfamiliarnaturalprocessessuchastemperaturechangeandweatherfluctuations,andhaslowhighlightingasariskissuebecauseitcannotbedirectlyexperienced.SincepeopleareaccustomedtoconsiderableweatherandtemperaturevariationonadailyandseasonalbasistheyunderestimatetheeffectsofapredictedriseinglobaltemperaturesofafewdegreesTheWorldMeteorologicalOrganizationusesconsecutiveperiodsofweatheroveraperiodof30yearstocalculatea‘climate’average:andthus–unlikeanindividualweatherevent–‘climate’isnotdirectlyobservable.Confidenceinprojectionsofclimatechangeimpactsdecreaseswithscale–withregional,andespeciallylocal,impactsoftenpoorlydescribed,meaningtherisksposedbyclimatechangetoindividualsareill-defined.Furthermore,relianceonsecond-handinformationabouttherealityandseverityoftheriskofclimatechangemeanstheriskisdefinedandinterpretedbyboththeinformationsourceandmessagerecipient.Uncertaintyaboutclimatechangecanbeexaggeratedbythemedia,whichtendstoemphasizethescientificandpoliticalcontroversysurroundingtheissue.

Facingtheglobalwarming,wemustdoourbesttodecreasetheemissionofcarbon.Everyonehavetheduty.Butwhatisthe‘carboncapability’?Letmetointroduceit.

Thereissomeconvergenceoffindingsfromtheworkaroundpublicengagementwithclimatechangeandtheworkonlearningaboutclimatechangeandcarbon.Inparticular,thesetwoliteraturesdemonstratethatbothindividualandinstitutionaldimensionsofengagementarevitaltounderstanding(barriersto)adoptionoflow-carbonlifestyles.Furthermore,theyhighlighttheneedtounderstandthe‘situated’meaningsassociatedwithcarbon;thatis,howindividualstranslateandapplyknowledgeaboutcarbonandclimatechangetotheirdailylives(forexamplethroughprocessesofobjectificationandanchoring).

Seyfanghaveproposedtheconceptof‘carboncapability’tocapturethecontextualmeaningsassociatedwithcarbonandtheindividualabilityandmotivationtoreduceemissions.Carboncapabilityisdefinedas:‘Theabilitytomakeinformedjudgmentsandtotakeeffectivedecisionsregardingtheuseandmanagementofcarbon,throughbothindividualbehaviorchangeandcollectiveaction’Weidentifythreecoredimensionsofcarboncapability:

(1)decision-making(knowledge,skills,motivationsandjudgments),

existingevidencethatcurrentsystemsofprovisionareoftennotconducivetosuchpractices;andthatcontextualbarrierscontributetothewidelyreported‘value-actiongap.Forexample,wefoundthatknowledgeaboutthecontributionofcaruseandflyingtoclimatechangeishigh,butthatchangeinrelationtothesetransportbehaviorsismuchlower.

Weconcludethattherearelikelytobeinterlinkeddeficienciesalongallthreedimensionsofcarboncapability(decision-making,practices,andstructuralengagement),whichunderminethefoundationsofacarbon-reductionpolicycontextrequiringvoluntaryactionbyindividuals.Giventhiscontext,wearguethatraisinglevelsofcarboncapabilityisanecessarybutnotsufficientconditionforincreasingcarbon-reductionlifestylechanges.Furthermore,achievingpolicytargetsforindividualcarbon-reductionwillrequiremeasurestoimprovethesecapabilitiesbyaddressingallthreeaspects.

Becausecertainmisperceptionscontinuetoprevailandthereislimitedawarenessoftherelativecontributionofdifferentactivitiesto

causingclimatechange.Thissuggestsaroleforcommunicationandeducationtoproviderelevantinformationtoguideeffectivemitigativeaction.Westress,however,thatthiscommunicationeffortshouldbegroundedinsituatedcontextsandsocialmeanings,andneedstobecognizantofthewaysthatindividualslearn.Theorysuggeststhatthereisaneedforobjectificationmakingcarbontangibleandconcrete.Thiscouldbeachievedthroughinformationalapproachesthateffectivelyre-materializeenergyandcarbon.Thetheoryalsosuggestsanchoringwithinpre-existingframeworksisneededinordertorendertheunfamiliar,familiar.

Movingfromtheactortothestructuresideofthesocialpracticesdiagram,andthethirddimensionofcarboncapability(broaderengagementwithsystemsofprovisionandgovernance),wecanidentifytwocomplementarycoursesofaction.Thefirstisforindividualstoinfluencetherulesandresourceswhichcomprisethegovernancestructuresofcarbon,forinstancethroughcivicengagement(e.g.,voting,lobbying,protesting,deliberativeparticipationinpolicy-making).Thesenewrulesmighttaketheformofcarbonpricing,carbonallowances(forcitizens,businessesorboth),emissionsregulation(e.g.,carbon-cappingofenergycompanies),low-carbonplanningandtransportpolicies,renewableenergypolicies,andsoon.Thesemeasureswouldsetquitedifferentframeworksforpotentialrepertoiresofaction,whichwouldfilterthroughsystemsofprovisiontoinfluencethesetsofsocialpracticeswhicharepossible.Secondly,thereisscopeforthepublictoshapesystemsofprovisiondirectly,throughengagementinenvironmentalactivismatthecommunitylevel.Forexample,theTransitionTownsmovementseekstocreatealternative,lowcarbonsystemsofprovisiontoreplaceexistinginfrastructuresandisjustoneofmany‘grassrootsinnovations’whichaimtoachievesystem-widechangethrough

collectivecommunity-basedaction.Improvementsinthesocialpracticeselementofcarboncapabilityshouldarisenaturallyoutofacombinationoftheothertwoelementsprovidinggreaterunderstandingandmotivationtoact,withinanenablingstructuralframeworkofsystemsofprovisionandgovernancewhichofferpracticaloptionsforlow-carbonsocial

practicesandindividualchoices.

Conclusion

AchievingambitiouspolicytargetsforcarbonreductiondependsonsocietalengagementwithclimatechangeandGHGmitigation.wehavehereconsideredtheextenttowhichthepublicisappropriatelyequippedtoengagein(voluntary)GHGmitigation,thatishow‘carboncapable’theyare.Theconstructof‘carboncapability’delineatestheskills,situatedknowledge,motivation,andcapacitytocutcarbon.Inordertoelucidatethedimensionsofcarboncapability,wehaveattempte