Policy solutions will be key to changing our systems and achieving 1.5° Lifestyles. Share your questions and learn more.
Policy Solutions
Last year IPCC’s Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla said that “Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This offers significant untapped potential.” To which sectors this 40-70 % actually refers to? And who do you see as the most important gatekeepers in tapping this potential?
Last year IPCC’s Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla said that “Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This offers significant untapped potential.” To which sectors this 40-70 % actually refers to? And who do you see as the most important gatekeepers in tapping this potential?
The figures are from the latest report by the IPCC Working Group 3 on mitigation, published in 2022. Chapter 5 of that report reviews the scientific literature on how demand-side management and a shift from products to services can contribute to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases. Among other findings, the review concludes, with a high level of confidence, that the “potential of demand-side strategies to reduce emissions of direct and indirect CO2 and non-CO2 GHG emissions in three end-use sectors (buildings, land transport, and food) is 40–70% globally by 2050.” Such strategies involve a range of changes. For example, for food, demand-side changes covered in the assessment include preventing overeating, reducing food waste, and shifting from meat and dairy products to alternative, mainly plant-based, protein sources. Few people are likely to make such changes spontaneously, and some changes such as substantial food waste reduction are beyond what individual consumers can influence. Hence, governments, the private sector, and civil society organisations all have important roles in enabling demand-side climate change mitigation.
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Chapter05.pdf
The current climate narrative seems to find an increasingly stable ground among citizens and communities around the world, but a stronger political and social acceptance is needed. What is the work needed for policies to follow the solutions provided by the global scientific community? And how can the different actors of the society take action to foster the implementation of climate policies towards 1.5 degree lifestyles?
The current climate narrative seems to find an increasingly stable ground among citizens and communities around the world, but a stronger political and social acceptance is needed. What is the work needed for policies to follow the solutions provided by the global scientific community? And how can the different actors of the society take action to foster the implementation of climate policies towards 1.5 degree lifestyles?
Policies have a crucial role in shaping lifestyles and enabling people to live in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Lifestyles are complex, dynamic, diverse and influenced by a wide range of factors but research shows that there are three categories of factors that play a decisive role: attitudes, facilitators, and infrastructure. Governments can affect all of these factors: attitudes by providing credible information, highlighting role models, and serving as a good example; facilitators for example by affecting prices through taxes and subsidies; and infrastructure by making public investments.