It has since been endorsed by over a hundred academics from a variety of disciplines at universities across North America, including some of the top climate change researchers in the world.
While North Vancouver was the first to actually require the labels by law, numerous municipal councils across Canada have passed resolutions in support of the proposal.
Why climate change labels on gas pumps?
Discourse on climate change tends to focus on points of extraction (e.g., oil sands and offshore drilling) or means of transportation (e.g., pipelines and shipping), but a well-to-wheel lifecycle analysis reveals that the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions from this sector actually come from end use.
Emissions from extraction and distribution pale in comparison to emissions from vehicle combustion. Unfortunately, we rarely question the simple act of pumping gas. There is a complete disconnect - one that is perhaps compounded by the distancing effect of our upstream focus.
Our greatest obstacle to transitioning to a more sustainable future is the systemic inertia of the status quo. The simple act of pumping gas is a habitual, automatic behaviour that has been normalized for several generations. Complacent, disconnected markets don't drive change. While we may not be actively saying, "Give me oil," we have the perfect downstream environment to perpetuate the status quo.
"Psychologists' theories on changing habits generally involve first unfreezing the subconscious action and raising it to a conscious level where we can consider the merits of alternative behaviours." The warning labels take the unexamined act of gassing up and disrupt it. They de-normalize the status quo. By communicating hidden costs to end-users in this way, the labels create a sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo solution and stimulate broader demand for alternatives. This drives change upstream as businesses and governments deliver solutions to meet this shift in demand. To learn more, please watch my TEDx talk below:
Our greatest obstacle to transitioning to a more sustainable future is the systemic inertia of the status quo. The simple act of pumping gas is a habitual, automatic behaviour that has been normalized for several generations. Complacent, disconnected markets don't drive change. While we may not be actively saying, "Give me oil," we have the perfect downstream environment to perpetuate the status quo.
"Psychologists' theories on changing habits generally involve first unfreezing the subconscious action and raising it to a conscious level where we can consider the merits of alternative behaviours." The warning labels take the unexamined act of gassing up and disrupt it. They de-normalize the status quo. By communicating hidden costs to end-users in this way, the labels create a sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo solution and stimulate broader demand for alternatives. This drives change upstream as businesses and governments deliver solutions to meet this shift in demand. To learn more, please watch my TEDx talk below:
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