Low Carbon Readiness Index: A short measure to predict private low carbon behaviour

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical argument that low carbon strivings – personal goals to reduce carbon footprint in the household – can predict a wide range of diverse behaviours to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reports four studies to validate Low Carbon Readiness Index (LCRI), a short, three-item measure of low carbon strivings. It is a simple and easy-to-use indicator of the general public's readiness to transition to a fully low carbon lifestyle. LCRI is associated with validated measures predicting environmentally significant reported behaviour (Study 1), multiple low carbon behavioural clusters (Study 2 & 3), and predicts reduction in actual energy use, arguably an aggregate mea..