Policy briefs

Policy briefs will be published and disseminated at the national and European levels throughout the project as research progresses, and will be promptly made available here.

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Communication & Outreach

PB#1: Structural and consumer policies are required to strive for 1.5°C lifestyles

Global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C hinge on multiple strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This policy brief explores the  emissions reductions in EU countries that would be required to achieve the 1.5°C target. It makes clear that in addition to technological change, significant change is needed in household consumption, and the systems and structures that shape consumption and lifestyle choices. The brief recommends some key…

PB#2: Enabling lifestyles with small carbon footprints

The EU 1.5° Lifestyles project identified 50 key lifestyle options to mainstream to help achieve the 1.5°C target. These options were identified through literature review and expert interviews and used in Citizen Thinking Labs to engage with citizens in five countries (Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain, and Sweden). The Citizen Thinking Labs are pioneering in their integration of gamification and participatory methods. They emphasise the necessity…

PB#3: Countering rebound effects

The EU 1.5°C Lifestyles project highlights four key low-carbon behaviours with substantial climate mitigation potential, 1) Reduce car use and switch to public transport, cycling and walking, 2) Use renewable heating/energy systems and reduce floorspace, 3) Move towards plant-based nutrition, and 4) Reduce flying (see Policy Brief 2). While such behaviours can lower consumption-related climate impacts, the so-called “rebound effects” may…

PB#4: Structural changes for 1.5° Lifestyles

The transition to 1.5° lifestyles will not be accomplished by individual behaviour change alone, but will also require an alignment of societal norms, politico-economic systems, and technological infrastructures with the 1.5°C target. The EU 1.5° Lifestyles project has identified crucial structures that require particular attention, especially underlying those that are rarely in the focus of climate governance debates, but whose broad nature has…

PB #5: Designing welfare systems for a 1.5° future

In sustainability debates, social and environmental outcomes are often treated as separate, if not conflicting, objectives. However, it is critical to identify synergies across welfare and climate policies and develop a joint approach to socio-ecological problems, in order to increase wellbeing for all while meeting climate mitigation targets.

"Designing Welfare Systems for a 1.5° Future" is the first of a series of Policy Briefs designed within…

PB#6: Overarching strategies for a 1.5° future

Structural changes are essential to support lifestyle changes because they create the enabling conditions for sustainable choices to be accessible, affordable, and desirable, particularly in key areas such as food, housing, and mobility. The EU 1.5° Lifestyles project highlights that technological improvements alone are insufficient to meet the 1.5°C target, as the demand for high-emission goods and services continues to grow without systemic…