In complex industrialized societies, it is virtually impossible for individuals to know the environmental impact of their consumption. A personal cap and trade system, which assigns citizens limited, tradable allocations of pollution (e.g., carbon pollution), can link individuals directly to their environmental impact and enable them to chart a path to sustainable living. To explore public reactions to this system, an Amazon Mechanical Turk sample of individuals residing in Canada viewed a video describing either a carbon tax system or a personal cap and trade system. A personal cap and trade system based on allocations of kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents (kgCO2e) was viewed as significantly more likely than carbon taxes to enable Canadians to reduce their carbon consumption and to live more sustainably. A range of public concerns that might limit support for carbon pricing systems were identified with qualitative analysis of participant comments about the systems.
