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Access to energy is a precondition for a decent standard of living. Some household decisions on energy consumption are however motivated to maintain or improve status, resulting in social zero-sum games, with environmentally harmful outcomes. Here, we review evidence relating status to energy consumption, elucidating consequential opportunities for...
Citations
... These studies typically compare the emissions from shared mobility options to those from traditional transportation modes, such as private car ownership, and assess the potential environmental benefits of a shift towards shared mobility (Yi and Yan 2020, Sun and Ertz 2021). A previous work evaluated marginal CO2 emissions for each kilometer a person travels in shared mobility modes (Creutzig 2021). Findings reveal that two wheelers are more climate friendly than four wheelers. ...
... Ride hailing (or ride-sourcing) is particularly problematic, as illustrated in figure 2, because ride hailing services, if not having a fossil-free drivetrain, can have higher carbon footprints than private vehicle trips due to deadheading (empty mileage en route to the pick-up) (Bischoff and Maciejewski 2016, Tirachini and Gomez-Lobo 2020, Creutzig 2021. Including larger systemic effects, such as reduced lifecycle footprint due to higher utilization of vehicles may have positive effects on the carbon footprint (Morfeldt and Johansson 2022) or even further worsening effects as people shift from public transit (Schaller 2021). ...
... So far, motorization rates have remained relatively low, also due to the significant cost compared to average salaries and to limited and congested road networks (Olvera et al 2008). However, as demonstrated in the literature, the status symbol nature of private vehicle ownership still represents a reason for concern in relation to future mobility trends in the Global South (Luke 2018, Ramakrishnan and Creutzig 2021). In addition, besides socio-cultural reasons for car ownership aspiration, there also exists a set of issues related to paratransit that need to be solved if shared pooled mobility is to consolidate as a leading modal share in the Global South. ...
Shared pooled mobility has been hailed as a sustainable mobility solution that uses digital innovation to efficiently bundle rides. Multiple disciplines have started investigating and analyzing shared pooled mobility systems. However, there is a lack of cross-community communication making it hard to build upon knowledge from other fields or know which open questions may be of interest to other fields. Here, we identify and review 9 perspectives: transdisciplinary social sciences, social physics, transport simulations, urban and energy economics, psychology, climate change solutions, and the Global South research and provide a common terminology. We identify more than 25 000 papers, with more than 100 fold variation in terms of literature count between research perspectives. Our review demonstrates the intellectual attractivity of this as a novel perceived mode of transportation, but also highlights that real world economics may limit its viability, if not supported with concordant incentives and regulation. We then sketch out cross-disciplinary open questions centered around (1) optimal configuration of ride-pooling systems, (2) empirical studies, and (3) market drivers and implications for the economics of ride-pooling. We call for researchers of different disciplines to actively exchange results and views to advance a transdisciplinary research agenda.
... The desire for status can drive unsustainable consumption, but also motivate acquiring energy saving goods and services. The review titled 'Status consciousness in energy consumption: a systematic review' explores the relationship between status and energy consumption, and how this relationship can be leveraged for climate change mitigation (Ramakrishnan and Creutzig 2021). The authors conducted a comprehensive review of existing published work that links status to household consumption decisions and behavior across all end-use sectors. ...
It is now well established that the demand side can contribute substantially to climate change mitigation thus increasing the solution space. The recent IPCC synthesis report for the first time explicitly reflected this class of solutions. Here, we provide an overview of an unique set of 22 review papers published in the focus issue of Environmental Research Letters. We also extract a key set of insights, ranging from the varied but rapidly evolving literature to demand-side mitigation potential, relevance for well-being, and consistent categorization of options across end-use sectors. We find that demand-side approaches to climate change mitigation supplement exclusively technology-focused supply side solutions and, in many cases, comprise system-wide effect contributing to well-being and planetary stability. Review studies cover macro-economics, well-being, and sustainable development goals on the metric side, and investigate consumption-based individual options, urban strategies, transport, building, and food sector potentials, but also the role of the circular economy, material efficiency, and digitalization. Demand-side measures can be categorized into avoid, shift, and improve approaches. Several additional reviews systematically investigate psychological and social approaches and initiatives to foster climate change mitigation. We finally outline important gaps and questions to be tackled in the coming years.
... With biological evolution, cultural evolution also in terms of energy transition from Palaeolithic to Neolithic and currently with the industrialization process, the amount and choice of harnessing energy have been changed (Joyce, 1988;Lutzenhiser, 1992;Shamsul, 2019). With industrialization, the addition of other resources like oil and coal has provided abundant power to fuel technological progress and economic growth (Behera et al., 2015;Huang et al., 2018;Martínez & Cámara, 2021;Ramakrishnan & Creutzig, 2021). Such kind of energy-intensive consumption is continuing to increase and brings with it a dilemma to reduce carbon emissions. ...
... Another major finding from the study in a developed country like Finland by Salo et al. (2021) indicates that household expenditure is mostly influenced by the increase in the number of adults in a household which affects the household carbon footprint (Irfany et al., 2015). A study by Ramakrishnan and Creutzig (2021) considers energy as a pre-condition for a decent standard of living. Additionally, household decisions on energy consumption act as a driver to maintain or improve status, resulting in social zero-sum games, with environmentally harmful outcomes. ...
... Specific social groups' consumption habits are a reflection of the cultural norms, values, and lifestyle decisions that adhere to those groups. For instance, households with higher education levels from urban regions exhibited a stronger awareness of energy-intensive practices, resulting in lower carbon emissions (Elasu et al., 2023;Nielsen et al., 2021;Ramakrishnan & Creutzig, 2021). This shows that Fig. 10 a, b, and c illustrates the mean annual CF (food, electricity & cooking fuels) and age of decisionmaker Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. ...
This study employs anthropological and sociological frameworks, particularly Pierre Bourdieu's habitus and structural constraint concepts, to dissect the intricate nexus between energy consumption, carbon footprint, and sociocultural dynamics. The research unfolded in the Kalyani Sub-division of West Bengal, India, encompassing both urban and rural landscapes. Data collection entailed comprehensive interviews with 610 households during the period spanning December 2021–May 2022. Statistical analysis was rigorously executed through SPSS, while carbon footprint computations drew upon the well-regarded Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission accounting methodology. Analysing global carbon dioxide emissions spanning 1850–2011, the study underscores the alarming surge in emissions driven by industrialization and non-renewable energy consumption. The ensuing disparities in emissions across nations and regions are attributed to socioeconomic factors, urbanization, and individual lifestyle choices. It becomes evident that socioeconomic status, education, and gender roles exert significant influence over energy consumption behaviour, with higher educational attainment correlating with heightened environmental awareness. Simultaneously, income inequality acts as a structural constraint, limiting sustainable behaviour adoption. Education emerges as a potent tool in mitigating structural limitations, challenging traditional gender norms, and addressing income disparities are deemed essential for universal access to sustainable practices. This research urges the formulation of context-specific interventions and policies to tackle the multifaceted drivers of carbon emissions, providing policymakers and practitioners with valuable insights into promoting environmental sustainability. Future research should delve into diverse sociocultural contexts and rigorously assess intervention efficacy, enriching our understanding of the complex interplay between habits, structural constraints, and carbon emissions, and guiding us towards a more sustainable and equitable future.
... (4) Public transits are jammed and the universal designs across age groups are deficiently constructed. (5) Men still insist on using private vehicles because of its important role as status symbol [50]. Similarly, it is also not status adequate for highly educated individuals to use motorcycles and public transits. ...
Individual motorized vehicles in urban environments are inefficiently oversupplied both from the perspective of transport system efficiency and from the perspective of local and global environmental externalities. Shared mobility offers the promise of more efficient use of four-wheeler vehicles, while maintaining flexible routing. Here, we aim to understand the travel mode choices of commuters in Bangkok and explore the potential demand for shared mobility through examining both revealed and stated choices, based on our survey (n = 1239) and a systematic comparison of mode choice situations. Our multinomial logistic regression analysis indicates that commuters value time in their vehicles and accept fuel costs, but that they dislike wasting time walking, waiting, and searching for parking or pay for road use and parking. Our model results imply that shared taxi has a higher chance of being used as a door-to-door mode rather than as a competitor to motorcycle taxis as a feeder to the metro stations. Ride sharing gains substantial potential when private motorized cars are charged with the social external costs they cause via congestion charges and parking fees. Replacing cars with shared taxis as the daily choice for those living in detached houses will result in a 24–36% reduction of car trips on Bangkok roads.
... In the buildings sector, the design, size and use of the built environment, combined with a plethora of technology adoptions, can decrease emissions substantially until 2050, ranging from insulation to smart appliances to prosumer renewable energy provision. In that sector, although health and air quality effects are well quantified and notable 74 , visible solar photovoltaic panels and digital tools for energy saving are also related to belonging and self-efficacy 75,76 , thus contributing to the social domains of well-being. ...
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. Evaluation of mitigation actions often focuses on cost and overlooks the direct effects on well-being. This work shows demand-side measures have large mitigation potential and beneficial effects on well-being outcomes.
Drawing on the survey research conducted on a representative sample of 1200 Polish households living in peripheral, fossil-dependent regions, this paper explores the hitherto unrecognised changes in energy behaviour in the residential sector, which resulted from the increase in energy prices that initiated in 2022 after the Russia's invasion on Ukraine. We consider only no-tech and low-tech sustainable energy practices that meet the needs of households and deliver lasting reductions in domestic energy use and the increase of their energy efficiency. We concentrate on final energy consumption, i.e. energy behaviour related to heating houses, washing oneself and washing dishes, washing and drying clothes, as well as using TV, computers, household appliances and home lighting. We analyse the frequency of use of low-tech and no-tech practices and indicate the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of households and home features that differentiate them. In addition, applying the method of association rules, we outline key traits of household exhibiting different types of energy behaviour, namely ‘avoid’, ‘shift’ and ‘improve’. We use this knowledge to formulate implications for policy initiatives at European, national and local levels aiming at increasing the inclusiveness of the energy transition process.
Zusammenfassung
Koordinierende_r Leitautor_in
Barbara Smetschka
Chapter 5 (Demand, services and social aspects of mitigation),
explores how mitigation interacts with meeting human needs and access to services. It explores, inter alia: sustainable production and consumption; patterns of development and indicators of wellbeing; the role of culture, social norms, practices and behaviour changes; the sharing economy and circular economy; and policies facilitating behavioural and lifestyle change.
This chapter is part of the Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Electronic copies of this chapter are available from the IPCC website www.ipcc.ch; and https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Chapter05.pdf
