Abstract

Effective decarbonisation must be socially equitable and attentive to the capacities of households to adopt and apply new social practices at home and in mobility spaces in-between. Understanding attitudinal landscapes and the dynamics of social recognition and interaction surrounding decarbonisation helps advance technical solutions and reduce consumption. This paper approaches decarbonisation as a “social dramaturgy” of climate-friendly practices and conceptualises the modalities and performances of climate action in public and private spaces, following Erving Goffman’s notions of “front- and backstages”. Analysing a geocoded Finnish survey from 2022 (n = 1446), we compare visible technological solutions with more latent, self-reported energy- and resource-saving practices. By examining how attitudes toward climate change shape beliefs in various solutions, we find that backstage decarbonisation practices align more with climate change concerns, while frontstage practices diffuse more easily. This novel sociospatial approach contributes to debates on the legitimacy of climate action and efforts to curb segregation concurrently.