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Journal Article

The decarbonisation of Europe powered by lifestyle changes

Authors
/persons/resource/luis.costa

Costa,  Luís
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Moreau,  Vincent
External Organizations;

Thurm,  Boris
External Organizations;

Yu,  Wusheng
External Organizations;

Clora,  Francesco
External Organizations;

Baudry,  Gino
External Organizations;

Warmuth,  Hannes
External Organizations;

Hezel,  Bernd
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/Tobias.Seydewitz

Seydewitz,  Tobias
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Rankovic,  Ana
External Organizations;

Kelly,  Garret
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/Juergen.Kropp

Kropp,  Jürgen P.
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

External Ressource
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Fulltext (public)

25370oa.pdf
(Publisher version), 2MB

Supplementary Material (public)
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Citation

Costa, L., Moreau, V., Thurm, B., Yu, W., Clora, F., Baudry, G., Warmuth, H., Hezel, B., Seydewitz, T., Rankovic, A., Kelly, G., Kropp, J. P. (2021): The decarbonisation of Europe powered by lifestyle changes. - Environmental Research Letters, 16, 4, 044057.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe890


Cite as: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_25370
Abstract
Decision makers increasingly recognize the importance of lifestyle changes in reaching low emission targets. How the mitigation potential of changes in mobility, dietary, housing or consumption behaviour compare to those of ambitious technological changes in terms of decarbonisation remains a key question. To evaluate the interplay of behaviour and technological changes, we make use of the European Calculator (EUCalc) model and show that changes in behaviour may contribute more than 20% of the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions required for net-zero by 2050. Behaviour and technology-oriented scenarios are tested individually and in combination for the EU plus the UK and Switzerland. The impacts of behavioural change vary across sectors, with significant GHG emission reduction potential and broader benefits. Changes in travel behaviour limit the rising demand for electricity, natural resources and infrastructure costs from the electrification of passenger transport. Adopting a healthy diet reduces emissions substantially compared to intensifying agricultural practices, while at the same time making cropland available for conservation or bioenergy crops. The trade-offs between energy and food may be substantially alleviated when deploying technological and behavioural changes simultaneously. The results suggest that without behavioural change, the dependency of Europe on carbon removal technologies for its net-zero ambitions increases. Structural changes will be necessary to achieve full decarbonisation by 2050, yet changes in lifestyles are crucial, contributing to achieving climate targets sooner.