Effective Options for a Transition to 1.5° Lifestyles at the Household Level

The 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement can only be achieved via system change, with both decarbonisation of production and the adoption of low-carbon lifestyles at scale. The Horizon 2020 project “EU 1.5° Lifestyles” has provisionally quantified the potential of low-carbon lifestyle options for climate mitigation in 5 EU countries. To further understand the feasibility of such societal transformation for achieving the 1.5°C target, it is, however, fundamental to discuss these results and define reduction pathways by engaging with citizens. Citizens are the agents for change and can offer on-the-ground evidence of barriers and enablers of lifestyle changes, giving insights for effective solutions. 

The EU 1.5° Lifestyles project recognises the central role of citizens in co-designing feasible climate mitigation pathways and envisioning a future where well-being is achieved in an equitable and environmentally sustainable way. This report focuses on citizens’ engagement in the identification of effective options for a transition to 1.5°C lifestyles at the household level. First, it describes the analytical work of the project that has led to the preliminary quantification of greenhouse gas emission reduction potential of a list of lifestyle change options. After that, it describes how these results have been used in designing and creating a puzzle game for citizens’ engagement. The puzzle was used in two rounds of labs with citizens in the 5 countries of the project. 

The first round of labs explored the level of acceptance of different lifestyle changes and the barriers faced by citizens adopting such changes. The results of the labs indicate higher acceptance for changes that imply less radical shifts in consumption behaviours and habits and, in particular, changes that primarily or solely imply a financial investment. The second round of labs explored positive co-benefits, as well as conflicts, arising from low-carbon lifestyle changes. The numerous health, economic, and social relationship benefits identified can be used as a starting point to design approaches to climate mitigation in line with well-being and other social goals. The conflict analysis was complemented by discussing solutions, at both the individual and system level, for upscaling the adoption of changes with high impact reduction potential. Such solutions can be enabled by a number of policy options discussed in the final section of this report. 

Overall, this work provides fundamental indications for the further upscaling of low-carbon lifestyle options with strong potential for society-wide adoption. At the same time, it proposes approaches for designing ambitious policies and structural interventions to enable options with limited adoption rates but more substantial climate mitigation potential.