Understanding the climate responsibility associated with elections

Summary Elections represent infrequent, high-leverage opportunities for everyday individuals to contribute to climate change mitigation. In this perspective, we present two ways of thinking about the climate impact of voting in elections. The first, “emissions responsibility,” intuitively apportions emissions to voters according to popular principles in carbon accounting and can be calculated for elections where there is a clear difference between major candidates (as in the 2019 Canadian federal election). The second approach, “expected emissions value,” is more probabilistic and can be used to investigate the rationality of participating in an election for climate-motivated voters. Building on these ideas, we discuss the possibility that “political carbon offsets” (donations to pro-climate politicians) could constitute a more effective and more equitable alternative to traditional, voluntary carbon offsets.