Being Good Sometimes Makes Us Worse for the Planet

Moral licensing is a cognitive bias that can make it harder to change our behavior. It's the tendency to use a positive action to justify a subsequent harmful action, and it is a possible roadblock to maintaining a habitable planet. There are various examples of moral licensing, and there are ways to challenge this psychological barrier to improve climate action.

We All Do It - Knowingly or Not

The majority of the public is aware of climate change, cares about environmental protection, and expects governments around the globe to take increasingly urgent action. As wildfires worsen and heat domes threaten the health and safety of people and communities around the world, more people are realizing the danger of our current trajectory. We put humanity at risk by continuing to burn oil, coal, and natural gas and extract and consume more resources than the Earth can realistically regenerate. 

As a result, people are increasingly taking meaningful action in their daily lives - installing solar panels, heat pumps, composting, buying EVs, rewilding their yards, buying second-hand, and actively participating in the gift economy (see the Articles section for coverage of all these topics and more). 

All of these actions are crucial and part of the solution. However, if we are going to succeed at stabilizing the climate, we can’t solely rely on taking environmentally friendly actions. We also need to reduce or eliminate any action that harms the environment. Until aviation fuel is sustainable, for example, effective climate action means we have to cut back on or stop flying in planes. Even if we logically understand that some actions harm the planet, moral licensing often steps in to excuse these behaviors.

Carbon offsets become a form of moral licensing when they are used to justify environmentally harmful behavior. They are used by individuals, companies, and governments:

• An individual might calculate the carbon footprint of a round-trip flight and then fund a tree-planting or solar project.
• Some tech corporations offset the environmental impact of their data centers by funding global renewable energy grids. 
• While governments roll out solar and wind power, they are simultaneously subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and permitting new fossil fuel projects. 

While emissions in 2026 might end up being slightly lower than 2025, they aren’t dropping quickly enough. Meanwhile, global warming is accelerating, putting humanity at increased danger.

Is moral licensing locked in?

Behavioral scientists actively debate how embedded moral licensing is in our psyche.

A study by Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong published in _Psychological Science _found that people who purchased green products were more likely to subsequently take environmentally harmful actions. However, the scientific community did not successfully replicate their results.

Later research found that buying green products did not necessarily lead to environmentally harmful behavior. Many people were morally consistent and one environmentally friendly action led to another. 

The science suggests that moral licensing can be challenged and is not a permanent fixture in our psychology. As climate threats deepen and temperatures continue to rise, fear for ourselves, our children, and future generations may also prevent us from slipping into actions that harm the natural world. 

**Moving past business-as-usual **

Climate scientists and activists argue that carbon offsets and other forms of moral licensing serve as an excuse to continue with business-as-usual. Instead of making a rapid transition away from coal, oil, and natural gas and protecting critical ecosystems, moral licensing allows carbon-intensive and environmentally harmful habits to continue.

Each summer, the intensity of wildfires reached levels that shocked and frightened climate scientists and the public, building on the levels of shock from previous years. The need for climate action is urgent. We must attempt to recognize our own moral licensing and other cognitive biases and actively refuse to participate in behaviors that harm planetary health. 

We must remember our individual and collective power: When even one person takes action to protect the environment and refuses to participate in activities that harm the environment, they can inspire friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors to do the same. Individual actions can help shift social norms, build momentum for the larger systemic changes we need, and remind us that meaningful change begins with everyday choices.