Standing up for the Paris Agreement: Do global climate targets influence individuals’ greenhouse gas emissions?

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of climate targets which have been adapted to individuals’ behavior based on global political events. As the global climate targets of the Paris Agreement are largely supported by society, we investigate the potential of these targets to lead to personal and social norms concerning individual contributions to the Paris Agreement´s climate goals. We assume that these norms mediate the influence of personal involvement in the Paris agreement and of environmental values on greenhouse gas avoiding decisions. Also, we expect that these norms predict greenhouse gas avoiding behavior, rather than norms related to climate change. The research is based on a laboratory study with students conducted in December 2017 in Germany (n = 226). The main results show for the students surveyed in the research that norms in favor of contribution to the Paris Agreement substantially influence objective carbon offsetting, as well as consumption of local food and green electricity; and these norms partially mediate the influence of personal involvement in the Paris Agreement and of environmental values on decision-making.