Are larger carbon footprints linked to higher life satisfaction? A study of the Nordic countries

Addressing climate change requires significant reductions in consumption-based emissions, raising the question of how individuals can maintain a high quality of life while lowering their carbon footprints. This study examines the relationship between consumption-based carbon emissions and life satisfaction in the affluent Nordic countries, which are consistently ranked among the world's happiest nations and exhibit high per capita carbon footprints. Using data from approximately 8000 respondents from a carbon footprint calculator survey, we analyze how total carbon emissions and emissions from eight specific consumption domains (diet, housing energy, vehicle use, public transport, leisure travel, second homes, pets, and goods and services) relate to six life satisfaction domains (material, dwelling, social, eudaimonic, work-leisure, and health). We find that overall life satisfaction is not significantly associated with the total carbon footprint. However, some consumption domains show meaningful associations with aspects of life satisfaction. Leisure travel is positively associated with health satisfaction and overall life satisfaction, while owning a second home is positively linked to both material and health satisfaction. In contrast, dietary emissions are negatively associated with most domains of life satisfaction. These findings illuminate the complex and domain-specific connections between consumption and wellbeing, suggesting pathways for reducing emissions without compromising life satisfaction.