The climate shadow is a new way of calculating our impact on global warming, and is intended to be more comprehensive than previous measurements. Still new and little-known, but already very well received, this measure will raise awareness of the consequences of our lifestyles on the environment.
The climate shadow: definition
The concept of the climate shadow was developed in 2021 by American climate journalist Emma Pattee. It's a measure designed to give a precise idea of the impact of our lifestyles on climate change. To do this, the climate shadow, also sometimes called the carbon shadow, seeks to have a balanced view of our actions: in other words, to take into account actions that generate greenhouse gas emissions, but also actions that help to limit them, that have a positive impact on the climate.
In this way, the climate shadow seeks to be as comprehensive as possible, by also taking into account data that is difficult to quantify, such as the actions we take to limit climate change: raising awareness, studies, influencing the behavior of others, actions aimed at reducingCO2 emissions in a systemic way..
It's acollective approach rather than an individual one: the climate shadow calculates the impact of one person on the climate, taking into account all the other people he or she has influenced, for good or ill.
That's why we call them climate shadows: just like a shadow, our own behaviors are projected behind us, and therefore beyond us.
What's the difference between the climate shadow and the carbon footprint?
The aim of the carbon footprint is to calculate the quantity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked to our lifestyles, in carbon equivalent, i.e. by converting each of these individual gases into what it would represent inCO2. Most of the actions we undertake emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
However, the carbon footprint does not take into account the full impact of our lifestyles, and in particular, it completely ignores the actions we can take to reduce GHG emissions on a global scale.
In fact, Emma Pattee, the journalist behind the "climate shadow" concept, realized that the majority of her carbon footprint was linked to eco-trips by plane, which were held precisely to raise the alarm about the climate, or to take concrete action to reduce GHG emissions. However, to deduce from this that she has a significant impact on the climate, as the carbon footprint calculation would do, would be to forget that these trips actually help to limit emissions ofCO2 and other harmful gases on a global scale.
Take, for example, a climatologist who travels the world by plane to study the climate, or an oil industrialist who only travels on foot. The carbon footprint would only take into account the emissions linked to the direct actions of these two people, and so the climatologist would have a larger carbon footprint, since he travels more often by plane. However, a better analysis of the situation shows that the climatologist's travel helps to reduce global warming, whereas the oilman's work, even if he travels by foot, has a catastrophic impact on global warming.
In this way, the carbon footprint concept has been taken up by many highly polluting companies, not least oil companies. Quantifying climate impact on an individual scale has enabled them to minimize their own dramatic impact on global warming.
The climate shadow therefore makes it possible to correct this flaw in the carbon footprint, and to take into account all the behaviors of a person or company: the emissions linked to their own actions, but also the emissions they have helped others to avoid.
How to calculate your impact thanks to the climate shadow?
The climate shadow works on three pillars:
- Consumption works like the carbon footprint. It calculates the carbon emissions linked to our lifestyle: housing, transport, electricity, use of plastic, internet..
- Choices take into account the climatic impact of the candidates we vote for, the way we manage our money, the climatic impact of the job we do..
- Finally,attention is less tangible, yet crucial. It enables us to value our personal involvement in the fight against climate change. It takes into account the time spent supporting climate-related causes, whether we take the time to raise awareness among our fellow citizens, whether we volunteer in a climate association..
So, while calculating your carbon footprint is particularly simple, since there are a multitude of online tools for doing so, calculating your climate shadow is more difficult, since it takes into account less quantifiable data. As a result, the climate shadow does not provide a quantified view of our impact on the climate. It therefore complements the carbon footprint, in that the climate shadow puts the spotlight on many everyday actions that have an impact on the climate. Above all, the climate shadow has an educational and pedagogical purpose, in that it puts our emissions into perspective, by putting them into perspective with our more global behavior.
