Title: “Sustainable Living in Systems Change: Modelling Lifestyle Change in IMAGE”
Speaker: Nicole Jane van den Berg, Utrecht University Repository
Abstract: “Nicole will present part of her PhD thesis and some opportunities for the next steps. A vital part of Nicole’s thesis is the set of developed SLIM (Sustainable Living in Models) scenarios across two critical uncertainties: more individualistic or collectivist values; and more centralised or distributed support for sustainable lifestyles. Four scenarios emerge, leading to unique, sustainable futures and just transitions. Firstly, the qualitative SLIM scenario narratives illustrate how structural support and value systems shape lifestyles differently and change dynamically in response to enablers and societal shifts. The scenario narratives identify the extent and speed of lifestyle changes for modelling the SLIM scenarios, with regional differentiation and equity considerations. The emission pathways show the implications of the SLIM scenarios towards sustainable living and highlight that lifestyle changes contribute substantially to climate change mitigation, mostly with larger systems change, to achieve transformative outcomes. More specifically, lifestyle changes could reduce passenger transport and residential emissions by about 39% for Global North regions and 27% for Global South regions in 2050 compared to a scenario based on current trends. These scenarios can help guide strategic dialogue and global climate change mitigation decisions and actions by considering lifestyle change in the context of larger systems change. For the next steps, a proposal is to develop a lifestyle module in IMAGE, explicitly modelling the behavioural actions in a dedicated place within the model.”
Closed-door event, organized by IIASA.
This meeting is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement No 101081604 – PRISMA.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the speaker(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.