Opening the black box: carbon-footprint calculators, meat consumption, and the “wicked problem” of metric governance

Abstract

Carbon-footprint calculators are widely used as communication and education tools, designed to make people aware of the ways their personal actions contribute to greenhouse-gas emissions. However, they have come under criticism for emphasizing individual behavior versus structural change. We extend this critique to argue that carbon-footprint calculators are a form of “metric governance” that not only disciplines users but also constrains their abilities to engage with the complexities of climate change and social action. We focus on a particularly wicked problem of carbon-metric governance: livestock greenhouse-gas emissions. We show that carbon-footprint calculators black box and fix the complex politics and uncertainties around livestock-emissions metrics, thereby inhibiting users’ abilities to engage as deliberative subjects in the “wicked problem” of climate governance.

Keywords

• Carbon footprint
• carbon-footprint calculator
• reflexive governance
• metrics
• sustainability