Research shows the pressing necessity for substantial shifts in our consumption habits, including energy. In this regard, the FULFILL project funded by the European Union (www.fulfill-sufficiency.eu) takes up the concept of sufficiency to study the contribution of lifestyle changes in decarbonising Europe. One of the FULFILL project's objectives is to develop a measurable and quantifiable definition of sufficiency to make it applicable as a concept to study lifestyle changes in decarbonisation strategies. In this article, a methodology for measuring and quantifying sufficiency on the household level is presented. Furthermore, the main results of applying the proposed methodology in four EU countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Latvia) are presented. The aim is to identify the existing variety of lifestyles that represent today’s households with a focus on their sufficiency level. In FULFILL, sufficiency is defined as a lifestyle that is low in CO2eq emissions while ensuring individual well-being. Therefore, a comprehensive carbon footprint calculator is developed to measure individual emissions from the following key activities: housing (heating and hot water use), electricity, transport, and diet. Measuring CO2eq emissions from other areas is explored. This is combined with a measure of individual well-being, considering the methodology proposed by the World Health Organization for measuring the quality of life in a culture-sensitive way. Based on the previous steps, it is possible to create the following five groups that appear to present valuable differentiations: Very Sufficient; Sufficient; Low Carbon Footprint, Low Well-Being; Average Carbon Footprint; and High Carbon Footprint. A survey was conducted to collect data from five European countries. The presented results show that a minority of individuals adopt a sufficiency-oriented lifestyle, with a significant portion of these individuals being women and young people. This may indicate the desire of future generations to be able to life more sufficiently. Within the group characterized by both a low carbon footprint and low well-being, the challenge lies in formulating policies that mitigate deprivation without concurrently increasing their carbon footprint. As unstable employment is frequent in this group, labour market policies could be important. For the half of the sample with average carbon footprints, tailored country policies that consider regional and cultural factors are needed to avoid negative outcomes. People with a high carbon footprint tend to not embrace a sufficiency orientation and prefer conservative policies. This group appears to pose a significant challenge because they may not wish to lower their carbon footprint. However, this group with an above-average carbon footprint presents the largest potential for decarbonization which also points to a discussion on the fair sharing of burdens in societies. For future research, we suggest the following: (1) investigating sufficiency lifestyles within various income groups, with a particular focus on low-income individuals; (2) examining individuals experiencing deprivation and measuring the potential impact on carbon footprint if the deprivation reduction is addressed; (3) identifying suitable policies for (2) while avoiding an increased carbon footprint; (4) extending the investigation of sufficiency to various countries around the globe.
Complete tool for submission, evaluation and publication of proceedings for scientific events.
