Introduction

In Swedish there is a word for the shame one feels when taking an airplane: ‘flygskam’. In addition to flying shame, Swedes also speak of ‘tågskryt’ (train bragging) and ‘smygflyga’ (flying in secret) (Hoikalla and Magnusson, 2019). People know that flying produces greater carbon emissions than taking the train or even driving. Many care about this fact yet fly anyway. Behaving in ways that are harmful to the environment when other options are known, studied and available is increasingly associated with the feeling of shame, at least in highly educated, middle class circles. It will not be long before we coin words or phrases for meat shame or carnivore shame, plastic shame, or shopper's shame, to name a few (though probably more catchy versions of them). There are many ways in which we could reduce our carbon emissions but choose not to. I call the shame that sometimes accompanies these choices ‘green shame’. In this chapter, I examine what place shame has in the pursuit of the greening of society. Is flygskam useful, and does it actually lead to a better state of the world? Are we moving the world towards a more sustainable state when we feel shame about certain behaviours that contribute to rising global temperatures, when there are alternatives available? I argue that we do, but only under specific circumstances, and with a cautious eye for the moral pitfalls of shame.

I start by outlining my understanding of shame and distinguish it from associated feelings like guilt or embarrassment. I define green shame and distinguish it from green guilt. Then, I distinguish between the act of green shaming and of feeling green shame. I argue along with Martha Nussbaum that shaming is undesirable across the board, and is likely to backfire if we want it to contribute to a greener society (Nussbaum, 2004). Nussbaum argues that shame should not be used as a punishment or deterrent for morally condemnable behaviour, and that shame is often unreliable. But feeling shame is distinct from urging others to feel it, as Nussbaum acknowledges in her account of constructive shame. Kwame Anthony Appiah and Jennifer Jacquet argue that shame can play a crucial role in engendering moral revolutions (Appiah, 2010, Jacquet, 2015).