Linking perception and reality: Climate-sustainability perception and carbon footprints in the Nordic countries

Abstract

Nordic countries are often recognized as leaders in climate-sustainability. A potential dissonance exists, however, between this perception and the measured sustainability of their lifestyles. In global terms, they are highly affluent countries spreading their climate impact beyond their borders by importing a large share of the energy and resources used by their residents. In this research, we focus on the potential dissonance between the self-perceived climate-sustainability of the lifestyles in the Nordic countries and the actual consumption-based carbon footprints (CBCF), estimated through a survey-based CBCF calculator with ∼8000 respondents across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Using bivariate and regression analysis, the study found that across all levels of climate-sustainability perception the CBCF the respondents ranged from 6.3 to 11.3 tCO2-eq/capita, representing a significant difference (79%) between the highest emitting (very low perception) and lowest emitting groups (high perception). A general negative correlation between elevated levels of climate-sustainability perception and CBCF was found, predominantly in the areas of diet, vehicle possession, and consumption of goods and services. Intriguingly, a counterintuitive increase in CBCF at extremely high levels of climate-sustainability perception was seen. Additional factors that contribute to higher climate-sustainability perception are explored, such as age, climate literacy, and pro-climate attitude (PCA). Conversely, individuals with high incomes or belonging to households with children display lower levels of climate-sustainability perception. Across all perception groups, however, the results confront the perception of the Nordics as climate leaders as Nordic CBCFs were still far above the average CBCF for the lowest global 50% of Earth's population and were far above (∼2–4x) suggested 2030 targets to remain below 1.5 °C warming. The findings of this study serve as an invaluable resource for policymakers aiming to align public perception with effective sustainability measures, thereby assisting in reducing CBCF and achieving global climate goals.