Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/336579 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Paper No. 529
Publisher: 
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition, München und Berlin
Abstract: 
Policy makers frequently champion information provision about carbon impact on the premise that consumers are willing to mitigate their emissions but are poorly informed about how to do so. We empirically test this argument and reject it. We collect an extensive new dataset and find both large misperceptions of the carbon impact of different consumption behaviors and clear preferences for mitigation. Yet, in two separate experiments, we show that correcting beliefs has no effect on consumption in large representative samples. Our null results are well-powered and informative, as we target information for maximal impact. These results call into question the potential of correcting carbon footprint misperceptions as a tool to fight climate change.
Subjects: 
climate change
carbon emissions
information provision
consumer behavior
JEL: 
C81
C93
D84
Q54
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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