The urgent need to address climate change requires widespread behavioural changes and structural reforms. However, the adoption of low-carbon practices is limited by individual, social and structural constraints. Carbon capability (CC) is an interdisciplinary, integrative framework which bridges the gap between individual-level behaviours and systemic change. This article develops a new theoretical framework for CC, with insights from the capability approach, social practice theory, and recent work in environmental psychology. Drawing on a nationally representative survey from the UK, CC is evaluated across six key domains of practice: energy, transport, food, shopping, influence, and citizenship. Our revised theory emphasises the diverse forms that CC can take, highlighting the multiple roles that individuals (and other actors) can play in driving climate action, as consumers, influencers, organisational members, and citizens. Results show that the UK population is becoming more carbon capable over time, with increasing knowledge about climate change and some adoption of low-carbon practices. However, transformative change is still lacking. The study highlights the importance of reorienting systems of provision to enable low-carbon practices and set capability ceilings to limit excessive consumption.

中文翻译：

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重新审视碳能力：理论发展和经验证据


应对气候变化的迫切需要需要广泛的行为改变和结构改革。然而，低碳实践的采用受到个人、社会和结构性约束的限制。碳能力（CC）是一个跨学科的综合框架，它弥合了个人层面的行为和系统变革之间的差距。本文结合能力方法、社会实践理论和环境心理学的最新研究成果，为 CC 开发了一个新的理论框架。根据英国一项具有全国代表性的调查，CC 在六个关键实践领域进行了评估：能源、交通、食品、购物、影响力和公民身份。我们修订后的理论强调CC可以采取的多种形式，强调个人（和其他行为者）作为消费者、影响者、组织成员和公民在推动气候行动中可以发挥的多重作用。结果表明，随着时间的推移，随着对气候变化的了解不断增加以及低碳实践的采用，英国人口的碳排放能力也越来越强。然而，仍然缺乏变革性的改变。该研究强调了重新调整供给体系以实现低碳实践并设定能力上限以限制过度消费的重要性。