Bridging the gap: the role of equitable low-carbon lifestyles

Minimizing the impacts of climate change requires rapid transitions in people’s lifestyles and how we organize our societies, institutions and infrastructure. This is underscored by the fact that household consumption accounts for around two-thirds of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; Ivanova et al. (2016) estimate lifestyle and consumption emissions at 65 per cent of the global total, while Hertwich and Peters (2009) suggest the proportion to be around 72 per cent of total emissions.1 O n a n aggregate level, compliance with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement will require reducing consumption emissions to a per capita lifestyle carbon footprint of around 2 to 2.5 tons of CO2e by 2030, and an even smaller 0.7 tons by 2050 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] 2018; Institute for Global Environment Strategies [IGES] et al. 2019; Ivanova et al. 2020). Most climate mitigation pathways that seek to keep temperature rise to within 1.5°C envisage a major role for lifestyle change (IPCC 2018). The International Energy Agency (IEA 2020) has likewise concluded that behaviour change is an integral part of emissions reduction strategies that accomplish net-zero emissions by 2050, emphasizing in particular the need for changes to domestic energy use, as well as reductions in car use and passenger aviation (see chapter 5).