TY - JOUR
T1 - Demand-side solutions to climate change mitigation consistent with high levels of well-being
AU - Creutzig, Felix
AU - Niamir, Leila
AU - Bai, Xuemei
AU - Callaghan, Max
AU - Cullen, Jonathan
AU - Díaz-José, Julio
AU - Figueroa, Maria
AU - Grubler, Arnulf
AU - Lamb, William F.
AU - Leip, Adrian
AU - Masanet, Eric
AU - Mata, Érika
AU - Mattauch, Linus
AU - Minx, Jan C.
AU - Mirasgedis, Sebastian
AU - Mulugetta, Yacob
AU - Nugroho, Sudarmanto Budi
AU - Pathak, Minal
AU - Perkins, Patricia
AU - Roy, Joyashree
AU - de la Rue du Can, Stephane
AU - Saheb, Yamina
AU - Some, Shreya
AU - Steg, Linda
AU - Steinberger, Julia
AU - Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Mitigation solutions are often evaluated in terms of costs and greenhouse gas reduction potentials, missing out on the consideration of direct effects on human well-being. Here, we systematically assess the mitigation potential of demand-side options categorized into avoid, shift and improve, and their human well-being links. We show that these options, bridging socio-behavioural, infrastructural and technological domains, can reduce counterfactual sectoral emissions by 40–80% in end-use sectors. Based on expert judgement and an extensive literature database, we evaluate 306 combinations of well-being outcomes and demand-side options, finding largely beneficial effects in improvement in well-being (79% positive, 18% neutral and 3% negative), even though we find low confidence on the social dimensions of well-being. Implementing such nuanced solutions is based axiomatically on an understanding of malleable rather than fixed preferences, and procedurally on changing infrastructures and choice architectures. Results demonstrate the high mitigation potential of demand-side mitigation options that are synergistic with well-being.
AB - Mitigation solutions are often evaluated in terms of costs and greenhouse gas reduction potentials, missing out on the consideration of direct effects on human well-being. Here, we systematically assess the mitigation potential of demand-side options categorized into avoid, shift and improve, and their human well-being links. We show that these options, bridging socio-behavioural, infrastructural and technological domains, can reduce counterfactual sectoral emissions by 40–80% in end-use sectors. Based on expert judgement and an extensive literature database, we evaluate 306 combinations of well-being outcomes and demand-side options, finding largely beneficial effects in improvement in well-being (79% positive, 18% neutral and 3% negative), even though we find low confidence on the social dimensions of well-being. Implementing such nuanced solutions is based axiomatically on an understanding of malleable rather than fixed preferences, and procedurally on changing infrastructures and choice architectures. Results demonstrate the high mitigation potential of demand-side mitigation options that are synergistic with well-being.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119827319&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41558-021-01219-y
DO - 10.1038/s41558-021-01219-y
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85119827319
SN - 1758-678X
VL - 12
SP - 36
EP - 46
JO - Nature Climate Change
JF - Nature Climate Change
IS - 1
ER -