Responsibilized and powerless? Unpacking the individualization of climate mitigation

Abstract

Over recent decades, climate mitigation discourse in Western democracies has increasingly emphasized individual lifestyle choices alongside continued structural reforms. This trend is commonly described as the “individualization of responsibility.” This perspective paper offers a critical interdisciplinary synthesis examining how this discursive shift operates, whom it serves, and what it obscures. We critically examine the rise of individual-focused climate strategies, such as carbon footprint tracking, behavioral nudges, and voluntary consumption shifts, and synthesize evidence on their documented efficacy. Drawing from climate psychology, political science, sociology, and environmental justice perspectives, we analyze how neoliberal governance has recast citizens as climate-conscious consumers while diffusing accountability from state and corporate actors. We argue that “responsibilization” can activate certain forms of individual agency while constraining others. When detached from structural transformation, it risks reinforcing social inequalities and weakening collective political engagement. The article advances an integrated, justice-informed conceptual framework, the Responsibility-Power-Justice (RPJ) nexus, that repositions individual action within systems of structural accountability. We emphasize that equitable and effective climate action requires coupling behavioral insights with ambitious, justice-oriented policy reform. Aligning responsibility with power and capacity is essential to avoid responsibilization without empowerment and to achieve the scale of transformation the climate crisis demands.