Climate Culture Boston Index, 2024
Rare
28 July, 2025
Carbon Offsets by Description Condition
The survey tested two different descriptions for carbon offsets to see if wording impacted behavioral indicators.
- Original description (80%)
- Carbon offsets are something you can buy. If you buy a carbon offset, you are paying for someone to reduce carbon emissions or pull emissions out of the atmosphere. For example, if you buy a 1 ton carbon offset, that means that 1 ton of carbon is either not released into the atmosphere or is pulled out of the atmosphere. Importantly, if that carbon offset did not exist, that carbon would have ended up in the atmosphere.
- New description (20%)
- Every person has a carbon footprint, which is the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) their activities generate. In order to address the impact of climate change, an individual needs to assess and reduce one’s own carbon emissions. Because it is challenging to be carbon neutral (or net zero) solely through lowering one’s emissions, carbon offsetting is a market mechanism allowing individuals to purchase carbon credits from verified projects designed to reduce carbon emissions or remove carbon from the atmosphere. Thus, through calculating one’s carbon footprint, then through emissions reduction, and finally through purchasing carbon credits, an individual can achieve carbon neutrality.
Methods
In April 2024, we surveyed adults from the greater Boston area (n = 1,015), quota-matched to the population of the metro area by age x sex x race and Hispanic / Non-Hispanic identity. Additionally, the sample was weighted using survey weights to be representative of the Boston area adult population on the same two dimensions.
Prior Boston Index findings:
Trends
