Abstract
Evaluating the consumption-based carbon footprint offers detailed insights into people’s behaviours, lifestyles,
and environmental impact stemming from their consumption patterns. Integrating life satisfaction and attitudes
into the analysis is crucial. This paper aims to examine how life satisfaction, financial constraints, attitudes
toward sustainable consumption, environmental awareness, and socio-economic/demographic variables
contribute to the carbon footprint across the following consumption categories: food, mobility, electricity,
heating, and clothes. Utilizing survey data collected in Latvia in 2022, with 1382 respondents, and applying a
Generalized Linear Model, the results revealed that food consumption accounted for nearly half of the total
carbon footprint. The analysis of climate impact determinants indicated that environmental factors (environmental
awareness and attitudes towards sustainable consumption) had a significant and negative influence,
while income level positively affected almost all consumption categories except for electricity and heating. Life
satisfaction significantly and negatively impacted the carbon footprint of food consumption but had a positive
effect on the carbon footprint of clothing. Socio-demographic variables also had varying impacts on different
consumption categories. Consequently, this study demonstrates that environmental education and information
can only partially address the carbon footprint of specific consumption categories, highlighting the need for
additional measures to effectively reduce consumption-related carbon footprints.
Liobikienė, G.; Brizga, J. 2025. Factors influencing carbon footprint in Latvian consumption: Environmental awareness and a socio-economic analysis. Journal of cleaner production : Elsevier. ISSN 0959-6526. eISSN 0959-6526. 409, 144664, p. 1–10. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.144664. [Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science)].