1 CARBON CAPABILITY understanding , ability and motivation for reducing carbon emissions

The UK government’s recent Climate Change Bill set an ambitious target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050. This level of response to climate change has profound implications for individual choices and behaviour, as well as for the social structures in which these operate. With over one third of many nations’ carbon emissions coming from private travel and domestic energy use, individuals clearly have a key role to play in any potential shift towards low-carbon societies. An individual can take several roles in promoting a low-carbon society such as a low-carbon citizen (e.g., voting for a ‘green’ policy), a low-carbon consumer (e.g., buying locally-sourced food) or a low-carbon employee (i.e., an employee with a commitment to a low carbon future who acts as a change agent in the workplace). At the moment, however, public engagement with climate change in the UK is limited and energy demand for both domestic uses and transport is rising. Although a large majority of the public recognises terms such as ‘climate change’, understanding and emotional buy-in are far lower. One problem is that there is a general lack of knowledge about the urgency of the situation, the scale of social changes necessary to reduce carbon emissions by 80%, and about the emissions impacts of different actions the UK public is not yet ‘carbon capable’. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of ‘carbon capability’ before suggesting ways that education can help learners to become more carbon capable.