Seán Moncrieff: ‘Carbon footprints’ were invented by big oil to make us all feel guilty

In our family, here are some of the things we do about climate change.

One of my Man Jobs is to be a human compactor. I get into the green bin and jump up and down to stuff everything in. The neighbours seem to enjoy this.

Later this year, we hope to get exterior insulation. We already had the man out to do measurements and tell us it’s all pretty straightforward; apart from dismantling the back of the house and putting it back together again.

But the main contribution is for me to stand in the kitchen examining random bits of packaging and asking Herself: does this go in the recycling? Younger readers: there was once a carefree time when Irish kitchens had only one bin and people didn’t have to refer to a rubbish reference chart. Imagine.

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It’s all part of doing our small environmental bit; to reduce our carbon footprint.

But here’s a fun fact about that phrase: while it was coined in the 1990s by environmental scientists, the idea of a personal carbon footprint was actually developed by the advertising company Ogilvy & Mather in 2004. Borrowing from a strategy previously used by cigarette companies, the aim was to re-frame the issue of climate change into one exclusively about personal responsibility. Planet still heating up? Well, that because you’re still going to Spain on your holidays and buying fast fashion. It’s all your fault.

The aim was to twist each of us into such a ball of guilt that we would fail to notice that the extravagant majority of carbon emissions don’t come from individuals but from corporations: in this case, the fossil fuel company BP which had employed Ogilvy & Mather. Needless to say, BP didn’t reduce its carbon footprint.

The new thing to get depressed about is Climate Doomism. While there is a pretty clear path to mitigate the most catastrophic effects of climate change, there’s also plenty of evidence that many powerful human beings don’t want to do anything about it. The UN Climate Change Conferences never achieve their stated aims. The likes of China and India continue to build coal-fired power stations. Large corporations spend millions on PR to greenwash themselves rather than actually doing anything.

It’s a fight not just to save the planet, but also against the blackest human impulses

The Doomists – and these include young activists and even some environmental scientists – see all this and conclude that it’s already too late. The fight is lost. The winner, once again, is human stupidity and whataboutery, guaranteeing our own extinction. And while such views currently inhabit only a small patch of the internet, there is evidence that they are leaching into the real world. Internationally, polls suggest that the majority of people still want to help fight the climate crisis, but an increasing number fear it won’t make any difference.

Climate despair is a far more potent weapon than climate denial. The problem is too large and intractable; and any public debate on the matter runs the risk of magnifying the levels of Doomism. It’s close to impossible for the media to report on the issue without sounding depressing: just as I’m doing now.

I don’t blame the Doomists. I’ve felt doomy many times. But it’s worth remembering that this is exactly what the oil companies and other big businesses and people in power want you to feel. They’d rather your children inherit a burning world just so they can continue to rake in the profits or make short-term political gains. They’ll encourage defeatism in you to justify their myopic selfishness. If we do have a future, such people will be beyond forgiveness. It’s a fight not just to save the planet, but also against the blackest human impulses.

So don’t get me wrong here: I’m not arguing against each of us doing what we can in this war. We absolutely should. But it’s also time we became stonily clear-eyed about who the real enemies are.