Individualisation of responsibility in environmental discourse: Case study of individual carbon footprint

Climate change is one of the most serious threats to mankind and is being addressed both at the international and individual level. The rise of neoliberal ideologies in Western society has led to the individualisation of responsibility for environmental problems. The blame and responsibility for dealing with climate change thus falls on individuals, and the structural, political and economic causes are being neglected. One case of individualisation of responsibility is the concept of individual carbon footprint which describes emissions as consequences of everyday human activities. The individual carbon footprint was first introduced to the public between 2000 and 2008 by the oil company British Petroleum in their media campaign Beyond Petroleum. This paper examines three different media outputs of this campaign. The aim of the paper is to determine how the campaign individualises responsibility for climate change. Using critical discourse analysis, specifically Fairclough´s three-dimensional model, not only the text but also the broader ideological frameworks of individualisation of responsibility are being examined. The thesis concludes that the discourse of this campaign frames climate change as a problem of individual behaviour, thereby shifting responsibility from corporations and systemic structures to individuals. The analysed texts reinforce the hegemony of neoliberalism and create a new discourse of individual carbon footprint which continues to persist to the present day.