Can Feedback on CO2 Emissions Motivate Pro-Environmental Behavior? An Online Intervention

The role of knowledge in the motivation to act pro-environmentally is controversial. The key to leveraging knowledge for pro-environmental behaviors may lie in the type of knowledge that is conveyed and the novelty of the knowledge for the audience. We conducted an online intervention study (N = 208) with a within-participants pre-post measurement design. We assessed the effect of information about the carbon footprint of behaviors, while accounting for previous knowledge. The results of a multi-level analysis revealed that the intervention had a positive effect on intentions for those behaviors for which participants had gravely underestimated the impact of the unsustainable behavior: Heating and consumption of goods and services. Further, analyses for heating showed an effect of previous knowledge about the behavior’s carbon footprint on the intervention success. The results suggest that knowledge-based interventions focussing on effectiveness knowledge can work, but depend on the previous knowledge of the audience.