We are excited to share our new paper, "Transforming provisioning systems to enable 1.5° lifestyles in Europe? Expert and stakeholder views on overcoming structural barriers", now published in Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy. In this study, we explored how current production and consumption patterns in key areas—food, mobility, housing, and leisure—must shift to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals.
A high quality of life with minimal resource consumption: what sounds simple is actually a huge challenge. The European Union is also seeking new ways to enable its citizens to enjoy an attractive lifestyle that doesn’t lead to excessive environmental destruction. Our recently published study, which was conducted in five EU countries, has come to a key conclusion: meeting people’s needs, rather than focusing on economic growth, should be the guiding principle for redesigning provisioning systems.
To meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, we need to change the current production and consumption patterns in the four key provisioning systems: food, mobility, housing, and leisure. As part of the study, we identified which societal structures are the biggest obstacles to this transformation. To this end, we conducted interviews with experts and held discussions in ‘thinking labs’ with local stakeholders from politics, civil society, media, and NGOs in five EU countries—Germany, Latvia, Sweden, Spain, and Hungary.
The study participants identified the dominant focus on economic growth as the biggest barrier to transforming these systems. They believe that this growth paradigm is so powerful that actors in all sectors of society have uncritically adopted it as a goal. However, it often conflicts with the need for sustainable change. As an alternative, the satisfaction of needs and the well-being of all can serve as a guiding principle. This also means accepting that some harmful industries and technologies will have to disappear.
Sustainability measures must work together better
If overall well-being becomes the guiding principle, the respondents see this as an opportunity to implement more consistent sustainability policies. Many also view regulations, limits, and taxes as necessary in certain areas. “A significant step would be to restrict or heavily penalize the purchase and use of extremely polluting goods and services, such as private jets, space tourism, or SUVs. However, it can't stop at individual measures—these policies need to be better coordinated. Currently, climate and economic policies often clash,” says Doris Fuchs, RIFS Director and co-author of the study.
To enforce coherent sustainability policies, governments must also limit the influence of powerful interest groups, such as the fossil fuel industry. Economic incentives for investing in sustainable technologies and products, along with incorporating environmental costs into pricing—such as through lower taxes on labor and higher taxes on energy consumption—are also sensible approaches.
Social inequality hinders transformation
In addition to these hard measures, respondents also mentioned softer factors, such as strengthening alternative narratives and indicators of a good life. The issue of inequality was frequently raised in the think labs. Poorer populations are the most affected by climate change, yet they have the fewest resources to engage in climate action. Policies must ensure greater participation for these groups, including integrating sustainability topics into curricula and education.
In all five countries, respondents emphasized that a comprehensive structural transformation is necessary, Halliki Kreinin summarizes: “We can’t leave the fight against climate change to individual citizens; we must fundamentally change the provisioning systems. Currently, they cannot meet people's needs without overconsuming resources.” What is required is a thorough transformation with well-coordinated strategic measures.
The paper is available under: Kreinin, H., Fuchs, D., Mamut, P., Hirth, S., & Lange, S. (2024). Transforming provisioning systems to enable 1.5° lifestyles in Europe? Expert and stakeholder views on overcoming structural barriers. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2024.2372120
Adapted from Dr. Bianca Schröder, Press and Communications Officer, RIFS