Solutions for addressing greenhouse gases and climate change abound and a group of researchers writing in the journal Nature Climate Change have a suggestion, as well. Institute carbon labeling on consumer products.
The authors of the article, Michael Vandenbergh of Vanderbilt University Law School, Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University and Paul Stern of the National Research Council, wrote that energy use in household dwellings accounts for 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. While the authors said household purchases of durable and consumable goods could not be precisely determined at the moment, "Even modest changes in the household sector could significantly reduce emissions."
The argument goes that a large group of consumers are interested in buying more environmentally friendly products. (An eight country survey in 2008 found 33 percent of consumers have or are ready to buy "green" products.) Consumers are also comfortable with labels on the products they buy for household use.
According to the Nature Climate Change article, "It is not reasonable to expect labelling to solve a complex problem by radically shifting the behaviour of most or all consumers. It is reasonable, however, to expect that labelling may improve a consumer's ability to make choices and may induce firms to change the mix of products offered to consumers. Nutritional labelling, for example, has not eliminated diet-related health problems, but labels do influence product selection and consumption in some cases."
The authors do not make light of the difficulty in assessing the carbon footprint of products, acknowledging that to be of utmost value, labels must track the full life-cycle of a product. Finding a label that works across borders is also seen as a need that is not currently being addressed.
In late 2007, Tesco announced it was beginning a two-year trial of a carbon footprint program by labeling 20 store branded items from four categories including detergents, orange juice, potatoes and light bulbs. Since then, the British chain, working with the non-profit Carbon Trust, has expanded the program to include over 100 own-brand items. Other companies using the carbon reduction label in the U.K. include Dyson, Kingsmill (baker), Morphy Richards (clothing irons) and Walkers (snack division of Pepsico).