This paper presents the results of a baseline survey undertaken for the Norfolk Island Carbon Health Evaluation (NICHE) project and analyzes the relationships among key variables hypothesized as affecting respondents' intentions to use a personal carbon trading (PCT) system. The survey was delivered to all households on Norfolk Island and gathered information on respondent's attitudes towards climate change, PCT and health, as well as demographic and household information. The intention of the study was to investigate the relationship between health and climate change and whether attitudes can be influenced by an understanding of one's carbon footprint prior to the roll out of a PCT trial.

The Norfolk Island Carbon and Health Evaluation (NICHE) Program is a project to trial the effects of a Personal Carbon Trading (PCT) system aimed at reducing carbon emissions and obesity related behaviours. This paper reports on a series of factor analyses designed to test attitudinal associations from a baseline survey carried out on the island. A self-completed questionnaire was offered to a randomly selected adult in each of the 800 households on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific. This was the first part of a three-tiered baseline survey of the island following the WHO STEPS approach. Items designed to measure attitudes to obesity, global warming/climate change, and the process of Personal Carbon Trading were factor analysed using Principal Axis Factoring (PAF). Correlations between the derived factors and other variables from the study were then examined. Three mainThe International Technology Management Review, Vol. 4 (2014), No. 1, 1-11 Published by Atlantis PressCopyright: the authors 1 Webb et al.factors designated 'weight consciousness', 'environmental consciousness' and 'optimism' were found to account for over 53% of the total variance in the data amongst the measures related to environmental and health consciousness. A single factor was derived from analysis of the variables included to measure attitudes to PCT that explained 56% of the total variance. Significant associations (p<0.01) were evident between factors derived from attitudes to body weight and attitudes to carbon emissions and global warming. Correlations amongst the factors measuring attitudes to obesity and the environment and attitude towards PCT revealed significant relationships (p<0.01), even before PCT had been rolled out on the Island. The associations evident between obesity and environmental degradation could help reframe current discussions around climate change and obesity management and the role PCT can play in influencing health and environmental behaviours.

Obesity and climate change are 2 modern world dilemmas. However, despite an understanding of many of the causal factors relating to each, large-scale interventions have had minimal impact on either problem to date. Some behaviors associated with obesity (eg, processed food consumption, nonrenewable fuel use, etc) also affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with climate change. This suggests that interventions aimed at curbing GHGs might also have public health benefits. Personal carbon trading is an emission reduction intervention that has been proposed to influence obesity-related behaviors. This article builds on the links between obesity and climate change and discusses some of the early findings of the Norfolk Island Carbon and Health Evaluation study designed to assess the impact of personal carbon trading on obesity and GHG emissions. Early results suggest that health and environmental scientists should be working more closely to develop cross-disciplinary initiatives and messages around health and environmental issues.

Personal carbon trading systems (PCTS) have been hypothesized as one of the measures needing to be considered to combat global warming and reduce carbon emissions (references here). The research described in this paper examines baseline data collected as part of the Norfolk Island Carbon Health Evaluation (NICHE) project. The project aims to examine links between obesity related conditions and individuals' understanding of their carbon footprint. A personal carbon monitoring system was rolled out on the Island mid 2013 that allows users to review their carbon outputs against a baseline calculated from the initial survey. The analysis presented here examines the differences between males and females attitudes towards the adoption of PCTS from a baseline survey conducted prior to the roll out of the system. The analysis of the model by gender revealed that 'Health Consciousness' and 'Environmental Concerns' were significant predictors for both genders. 'Optimism' was also identified by both genders to be significant, but it was found to explain double the amount of variance for males than females. Whereas, 'Self Heath Evaluation' was found to only be a significant predictor of female attitudes towards a PCTS. Surprisingly, 'Environmental Action' was found not to be a significant predictor to either genders attitudes towards the adoption of PCTS.