This Earth Month, Voters Want to Hold the Biggest Emitters Most Responsible for Climate Damages
By Catherine Fraser and Kevin Hanley
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, April has often been heralded as “Earth Month” in the U.S. On Earth Day and throughout the month, individuals are encouraged to ride their bike to work, take the bus, or skip the plastic cup. Often, individuals are called upon to mind their “carbon footprint” — despite the fact that individual actions, though important, cannot and will not be enough to address the climate crisis.
Coined by British Petroleum (BP) in the early 2000s, the term “carbon footprint” has become oft-used and well-known across the U.S. and the world. In fact, a recent Data for Progress survey finds 85% of voters have heard either “a lot” or “a little” about the term. It even comes up in an open-ended question about the importance of Earth Day, with one respondent saying Earth Day reminds “people to be kind to the earth, and be mindful of their carbon footprint.”
Most of the voters who are familiar with the term say they consider their own carbon footprint when making household purchasing decisions (69% consider their carbon footprint a lot or a little). Despite the ubiquity of the term “carbon footprint,” most voters don’t know it was coined by an oil and gas company, never mind that its intent was to put the onus on individuals — and not the biggest emitters — to reduce emissions and address climate change. Just 9% of voters who are familiar with the term “carbon footprint” correctly identify fossil fuel companies as the originators of the term, while 39% and 30% believe that environmental organizations and climate activists, respectively, coined it.
Nonetheless, Americans broadly believe that big corporations and oil and gas companies are most responsible for causing climate change, with 30% blaming big corporations generally and 28% blaming oil and gas companies specifically. In contrast, just 13% of voters blame individual consumers, a sentiment found across partisanship.
A new report from InfluenceMap finds that just 122 entities worldwide are responsible for over 70% of global fossil fuel and cement emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution. After learning about the findings of the report, a strong majority of voters (81%) agree that these entities with the largest emissions should be held most responsible for reducing their carbon footprint and climate impact.
Finally, Data for Progress informed respondents that BP coined and promoted the term “carbon footprint” in the early 2000s to promote the idea that climate change is not the fault of oil and gas companies, but that of individuals. After learning this information, a majority of voters (60%) agree with a statement that says, given its role in creating the term “carbon footprint” to shirk its own responsibility to reduce emissions, BP should be held accountable for its efforts to delay and avoid reducing its own emissions. This includes majorities of Democrats (70%), Independents (58%), and Republicans (51%).
As Earth Month comes to a close, Americans place blame for climate change and delayed emissions reductions squarely on those most responsible: big corporations and fossil fuel companies, like BP.
Catherine Fraser (@cathwfraser) is the Senior Climate and Energy Program Associate at Data for Progress.
Kevin Hanley (@kebhanley) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.