Pursuing necessary reductions in embedded GHG emissions of developed nations: Will efficiency improvements and changes in consumption get us there?

Global Environmental Change

Volumn 52, Issue , 2018, Pages 314-324

  Bjørn, Anders ^a,d   Kalbar, Pradip ^a,e   Nygaard, Simon Elsborg ^b   Kabins, Simon ^b   Jensen, Charlotte Louise ^c   Birkved, Morten ^a   Schmidt, Jannick ^c   Hauschild, Michael Zwicky ^a  

^a TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF DENMARK   (Denmark)

^b AARHUS UNIVERSITY   (Denmark)

^c AALBORG UNIVERSITY   (Denmark)

^d ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE DE MONTRÉAL   (Canada)

^e INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BOMBAY   (India)

Author keywords

Climate goals; Consumption patterns; Embedded emissions; Emission intensity; Frozen policy; Paris Agreement

Indexed keywords

CONFERENCE PROCEEDING; CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR; ELECTRICITY SUPPLY; EMISSION CONTROL; ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY; GLOBAL CLIMATE; GREENHOUSE GAS; POLICY DEVELOPMENT; TEMPERATURE; TIME SERIES;

DENMARK; FRANCE; ILE DE FRANCE; PARIS; VILLE DE PARIS;

EID: 85052975646     PISSN: 09593780     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.08.001     Document Type: Article

References (71)

1. Aguiléra, A., Business travel and sustainability. Gärling, T., Ettema, D., Friman, M., (eds.) Handbook of Sustainable Travel, 2014, Springer.
2. Akenji, L., Consumer scapegoatism and limits to green consumerism. J. Clean. Prod. 63 (2014), 13–23.
3. Association Ecoinvent, Ecoinvent. Available: 2018 (Accessed 20 April, 2018) http://www.ecoinvent.org/.
4. Chitnis, M., Sorrell, S., Druckman, A., Firth, S.K., Jackson, T., Turning lights into flights: estimating direct and indirect rebound effects for UK households. Energy Policy 55 (2013), 234–250.
5. Creutzig, F., Roy, J., Lamb, W.F., Azevedo, I.M.L., de Bruin, W.B., Dalkmann, H., Edelenbosch, O.Y., Geels, F.W., Grübler, A., Hepburn, C., Hertwich, E., Khosla, R., Mattauch, L., Minx, J.C., Ramakrishnan, A., Rao, N., Steinberger, J., Tavoni, M., Ürge-Vorsatz, D., Weber, E.U., Towards demand-side solutions for mitigating climate change. Nat. Clim. Change 8 (2018), 268–271.
6. Cullen, J.M., Allwood, J.M., Borgstein, E.H., Reducing energy demand: what are the practical limits?. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (2011), 1711–1718.
7. de Koning, A., Huppes, G., Deetman, S., Tukker, A., Scenarios for a 2 °C world: a trade-linked input–output model with high sector detail. Clim. Policy 16 (2016), 301–317.
8. DEA, Energistatistik 2015. 2015, Danish Energy Agency.
9. DEA, Danmarks Energi- Og Klimafremskrivning 2015. 2015, Energistyrelsen (Danish Energy Agency), Denmark.
10. DEA, Personal Communication with Andreas Moltesen. 2016, Danish Energy Agency.
11. DEA, Dansk Klimapolitik. Available: 2016, Danish Energy Agency (Accessed 20 April 2018) https://ens.dk/ansvarsomraader/energi-klimapolitik/fakta-om-dansk-energi-klimapolitik/dansk-klimapolitik.
12. Druckman, A., Jackson, T., The bare necessities: how much household carbon do we really need?. Ecol. Econ. 69 (2010), 1794–1804.
13. Fanning, A.L., O'Neill, D.W., Tracking resource use relative to planetary boundaries in a steady-state framework: a case study of Canada and Spain. Ecol. Indic. 69 (2016), 836–849.
14. Fox, E., Hitchings, R., Day, R., Venn, S., Demanding distances in later life leisure travel. Geoforum 82 (2017), 102–111.
15. Fuchs, D., Di Giulio, A., Glaab, K., Lorek, S., Maniates, M., Princen, T., Røpke, I., Power: the missing element in sustainable consumption and absolute reductions research and action. J. Clean. Prod. 132 (2016), 298–307.
16. GFN, Global Footprint Network, Footprint Calculator. Available: 2018 (Accessed 20 April, 2018) https://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/.
17. Girod, B., de Haan, P., GHG reduction potential of changes in consumption patterns and higher quality levels: evidence from Swiss household consumption survey. Energy Policy 37 (2009), 5650–5661.
18. Girod, B., Van Vuuren, D.P., Hertwich, E.G., Global climate targets and future consumption level: an evaluation of the required GHG intensity. Environ. Res. Lett., 8, 2013 014016.
19. Girod, B., van Vuuren, D.P., Hertwich, E.G., Climate policy through changing consumption choices: options and obstacles for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Glob. Environ. Change 25 (2014), 5–15.
20. Gjerris, M., Gamborg, C., Saxe, H., What to buy? On the complexity of being a critical consumer. J. Agric. Environ. Ethics 29 (2016), 81–102.
21. Goldstein, B., Hauschild, M., Fernandez, J., Birkved, M., Contributions of local agriculture to urban sustainability in the Northeast United States. Environ. Sci. Technol. 51 (2017), 7340–7349.
22. Gough, I., Recomposing consumption: defining necessities for sustainable and equitable well-being. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A, 375, 2017 20160379.
23. Gram-Hanssen, K., Residential heat comfort practices: understanding users. Build. Res. Inf. 38 (2010), 175–186.
24. Grubler, A., Wilson, C., Bento, N., Boza-Kiss, B., Krey, V., McCollum, D.L., Rao, N.D., Riahi, K., Rogelj, J., Stercke, S., Cullen, J., Frank, S., Fricko, O., Guo, F., Gidden, M., Havlík, P., Huppmann, D., Kiesewetter, G., Rafaj, P., Schoepp, W., Valin, H., A low energy demand scenario for meeting the 1.5 °C target and sustainable development goals without negative emission technologies. Nat. Energy, 3, 2018, 515.
25. Herrmann, I.T., Hauschild, M.Z., Effects of globalisation on carbon footprints of products. CIRP Ann. 58 (2009), 13–16.
26. IEA, Energy Technology Perspectives 2016 – Towards Sustainable Urban Energy Systems. 2016, International Energy Agency, France.
27. IIASA International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, AR5 Scenario Database Version 1.0.2. Available: 2014 (Accessed Accessed 20 April, 2018) https://tntcat.iiasa.ac.at/AR5DB/dsd?Action=htmlpage&page=about.
28. IPCC, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change., 2013, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
29. ISO, 14040:2006. Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment – Principles and Framework. 2006.
30. ISO, ISO 14044:2006. Environmental Management – Life Cycle Assessment – Requirements and Guidelines. 2006.
31. Ivanova, D., Stadler, K., Steen-Olsen, K., Wood, R., Vita, G., Tukker, A., Hertwich, E.G., Environmental impact assessment of household consumption. J. Ind. Ecol. 20 (2015), 526–536.
32. Jensen, C.L., Understanding energy efficient lighting as an outcome of dynamics of social practices. J. Clean. Prod. 165 (2017), 1097–1106.
33. Kalbar, P., Birkved, M., Kabins, S., Nygaard, S.E., Personal-metabolism (PM) coupled with life cycle assessment (LCA) model: Danish case study. Environ. Int. 91 (2016), 168–179.
34. Kokoni, S., Skea, J., Input-output and life-cycle emissions accounting: applications in the real world. Clim. Policy 14 (2014), 372–396.
35. Laakso, S., Giving up cars – the impact of a mobility experiment on carbon emissions and everyday routines. J. Clean. Prod. 169 (2017), 135–142.
36. Laakso, S., Lettenmeier, M., Household-level transition methodology towards sustainable material footprints. J. Clean. Prod. 132 (2014), 184–191.
37. Laakso, S., Heiskanen, E., Matschoss, K., D3.2 ENERGISE Living Labs Background Report. EU Horizon 2020 Project 727642., 2017, ENERGISE. European Network for Research, Good Practice and Innovation for Sustainable Energy.
38. Luzecka, P., “Take a gap year!” A social practice perspective on air travel and potential transitions towards sustainable tourism mobility. J. Sustain. Tour. 24 (2016), 446–462.
39. McAloone, T., Bey, N., Environmental Improvement Through Product Development - A Guide. 2009, Technical University of Denmark.
40. Merciai, S., Schmidt, J., Methodology for the construction of global multi-regional hybrid supply and use tables for the EXIOBASE v3 database. J. Ind. Ecol. 22 (2018), 516–531.
41. Millar, R.J., Fuglestvedt, J.S., Friedlingstein, P., Rogelj, J., Grubb, M.J., Matthews, H.D., Skeie, R.B., Forster, P.M., Frame, D.J., Allen, M.R., Emission budgets and pathways consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 °C. Nat. Geosci. 10 (2017), 741–747.
42. Minx, J.C., Lamb, W.F., Callaghan, M.W., Bornmann, L., Fuss, S., Fast growing research on negative emissions. Environ. Res. Lett., 12, 2017 035007.
43. Minx, J.C., Lamb, W.F., Callaghan, M.W., Fuss, S., Hilaire, J., Lenzi, D., Nemet, G., Creutzig, F., Amann, T., Beringer, T., de Oliveira Garcia, W., Hartmann, J., Khanna, T., Luderer, G., Nemet, G.F., Rogelj, J., Rogers, S., Smith, P., del Mar Zamora, M., Negative emissions: part 1 – research landscape, ethics and synthesis. Environ. Res. Lett., 13, 2018 063001.
44. PwC, Conscious Uncoupling? Low Carbon Economy Index 2015. 2015, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
45. Rees, W.E., Revisiting carrying capacity: area-based indicators of sustainability. Popul. Environ. 17 (1996), 195–215.
46. Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, A., Chapin, F.S., Lambin, E.F., Lenton, T.M., Scheffer, M., Folke, C., Schellnhuber, H.J., Nykvist, B., de Wit, C.A., Hughes, T., van der Leeuw, S., Rodhe, H., Sorlin, S., Snyder, P.K., Costanza, R., Svedin, U., Falkenmark, M., Karlberg, L., Corell, R.W., Fabry, V.J., Hansen, J., Walker, B., Liverman, D., Richardson, K., Crutzen, P., Foley, J.A., A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461 (2009), 472–475.
47. Røpke, I., Theories of practice — new inspiration for ecological economic studies on consumption. Ecol. Econ. 68 (2009), 2490–2497.
48. Rogelj, J., Luderer, G., Pietzcker, R.C., Kriegler, E., Energy systems transformation for limiting end-of-century warming to below 1.5 °C. Nat. Clim. Change 5 (2015), 519–527.
49. Rogelj, J., Elzen, M.Den, Fransen, T., Fekete, H., Winkler, H., Schaeffer, R., Sha, F., Riahi, K., Meinshausen, M., Perspective: paris Agreement climate proposals need boost to keep warming well below 2 °C. Nature 534 (2016), 631–639.
50. Ryghaug, M., Toftaker, M., A transformative practice? meaning, competence, and material aspects of driving electric cars in Norway. Nat. Cult. 9 (2014), 146–163.
51. Sayre, N.F., The genesis, history, and limits of carrying capacity. Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr. 98 (2008), 120–134.
52. Schmidt, J.H., Weidema, B.P., Suh, S., FORWAST: Documentation of the Final Model Used for the Scenario Analyses. Deliverable 6–4 of the EU FP6-Project FORWAST, 2010.
53. Shove, E., Converging conventions of comfort, cleanliness and convenience. J. Consum. Policy Stud. 26 (2003), 395–418.
54. Sørensen, P.B., Elmeskov, J., Frederiksen, P., Jacobsen, J.B., Kristensen, N.B., Morthorst, P.E., Richardson, K., Omstilling Med Omtanke – Status Og Udfordringer for Dansk Klimapolitik. 2015, Klimarådet (The Danish Council on Climate Change).
55. Sorrell, S., Reducing energy demand: a review of issues, challenges and approaches. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 47 (2015), 74–82.
56. Spurling, N., Kuijer, L., Everyday Futures. 2016, Institute for Social Futures, Lancaster University.
57. Spurling, N., McMeekin, A., Shove, E., Southerton, D., Welch, D., Interventions in Practice: Re-framing Policy Approaches to Consumer Behaviour. 2013, Sustainable Practices Research Group.
58. Stadler, K., Wood, R., Bulavskaya, T., Södersten, C.J., Simas, M., Schmidt, S., Usubiaga, A., Acosta-Fernández, J., Kuenen, J., Bruckner, M., Giljum, S., Lutter, S., Merciai, S., Schmidt, J.H., Theurl, M.C., Plutzar, C., Kastner, T., Eisenmenger, N., Erb, K.H., de Koning, A., Tukker, A., EXIOBASE 3: developing a time series of detailed environmentally extended multi-regional input-output tables. J. Ind. Ecol. 22 (2018), 502–515.
59. Starkey, R., Allocating Emissions Rights: Are Equal Shares, Fair Shares?. 2008, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
60. Statistics Denmark. Prices and consumption, FU51: Household Yearly Consumption by Type of Consumption, Group of Households and Price Unit. Available: 2016 (Accessed 20 April, 2018) http://www.statbank.dk/FU51.
61. Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S.E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E.M., Biggs, R., Carpenter, S.R., de Vries, W., de Wit, C.A., Folke, C., Gerten, D., Heinke, J., Mace, G.M., Persson, L.M., Ramanathan, V., Reyers, B., Sorlin, S., Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science, 2015, 347.
62. UN, World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision, DVD Edition. 2015, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.
63. UNCTAD, Review of Maritime Transport 2016. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2016 pp 7. ISBN 978-92-1-112904-5.
64. UNEP, The Emissions Gap Report 2015., 2015, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi.
65. UNFCCC, Adoption of the Paris Agreement. Proposal by the President. Draft Decision -/CP.21. 2015, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
66. van Vuuren, D.P., Stehfest, E., den Elzen, M.G.J., Kram, T., van Vliet, J., Deetman, S., Isaac, M., Goldewijk, K.K., Hof, A., Beltran, A.M., Oostenrijk, R., van Ruijven, B., RCP2.6: exploring the possibility to keep global mean temperature increase below 2 °C. Clim. Change 109 (2011), 95–116.
67. van Vuuren, D.P., Kok, M., Lucas, P.L., Prins, A.G., Alkemade, R., van den Berg, M., Bouwman, L., van der Esch, S., Jeuken, M., Kram, T., Stehfest, E., Pathways to achieve a set of ambitious global sustainability objectives by 2050: explorations using the IMAGE integrated assessment model. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 98 (2015), 303–323.
68. WBCSD, Cement Sustainability Initiative. Getting the Numbers Right Project. Emissions Report 2014., 2014, World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
69. Wiedmann, T., Carbon footprint and input-output analysis – an introduction. Econ. Syst. Res. 21 (2009), 175–186.
70. Wood, R., Stadler, K., Simas, M., Bulavskaya, T., Giljum, S., Lutter, S., Tukker, A., Growth in environmental footprints and environmental impacts embodied in trade: resource efficiency indicators from EXIOBASE3. J. Ind. Ecol. 22 (2018), 553–564.
71. World Steel Association, Personal Communication With Jay Choi. Safety, Technology & Environment Programme. 2017, World Steel Association January, 2017.