Carbon information, pricing, and bans. Evidence from a field experiment

Abstract

How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to individual consumption patterns? Our findings from a large-scale field experiment at a university canteen suggest that providing information on dishes' carbon footprint alone has no significant impact on users' habits. Instead, consumers voluntarily shift toward low-carbon footprint dishes only when carbon footprint information is coupled with a pricing system where dish prices and the carbon footprint of the dishes are positively correlated. Our work also suggests that a simple and effective way to reduce the carbon footprint of consumption is to regulate the supply by replacing high-carbon dishes with equally nourishing low-carbon dishes.

Keywords: Food carbon footprint, carbon information, CO2 pricing.

JEL Classification: D12, D78, M31, Q50