Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FULFILL (Fundamental Decarbonisation Through Sufficiency By Lifestyle Changes)
Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-09-30
FULFILL analyzed lifestyle changes as part of European decarbonization efforts to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. It focused on the concept of sufficiency as a guiding principle for reducing energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions while promoting societal well-being. The sufficiency principle involved creating the necessary conditions for individuals and communities to change their lifestyles in ways that aligned with planetary boundaries. The project acknowledged the sufficiency principle as a powerful approach to climate change mitigation and emphasized the need to go beyond targeting specific behaviors or domains. Instead, it advocated for a holistic examination of lifestyles within the socio-technical transition. Bringing together research institutes, academia, think tanks, NGOs, and external experts, the project engaged in an inter- and trans-disciplinary dialogue between social sciences and humanities as well as techno-economic energy and climate studies.
The main objective of the project was to analyze lifestyle changes in European decarbonization efforts, guided by the sufficiency principle. It comprehensively examined lifestyle changes in the socio-technical transition, going beyond individual behaviors or domains. The project combined literature to characterize lifestyle change and sufficiency, leading to a measurable definition for studying decarbonization. Empirical research was conducted at the individual and household level, as well as the community and initiative level, assessing sufficiency lifestyles, their consequences, enablers, and barriers across diverse European conditions, and in comparison to India and the Global South. The contributions and limitations of municipalities, intentional communities, and initiatives to decarbonization through sufficiency were evaluated. The systemic implications of suf-ficiency lifestyles at national and European levels were assessed, exploring pathways for wider adoption and examining their impact on decarbonization, economics, health, and gender. The pro-ject generated policy recommendations by combining research findings with citizen science activi-ties and disseminated relevant findings to stakeholders, contributing to countries' and the EU's NDCs.
The main objective of the project was to analyze lifestyle changes in European decarbonization efforts, guided by the sufficiency principle. It comprehensively examined lifestyle changes in the socio-technical transition, going beyond individual behaviors or domains. The project combined literature to characterize lifestyle change and sufficiency, leading to a measurable definition for studying decarbonization. Empirical research was conducted at the individual and household level, as well as the community and initiative level, assessing sufficiency lifestyles, their consequences, enablers, and barriers across diverse European conditions, and in comparison to India and the Global South. The contributions and limitations of municipalities, intentional communities, and initiatives to decarbonization through sufficiency were evaluated. The systemic implications of suf-ficiency lifestyles at national and European levels were assessed, exploring pathways for wider adoption and examining their impact on decarbonization, economics, health, and gender. The pro-ject generated policy recommendations by combining research findings with citizen science activi-ties and disseminated relevant findings to stakeholders, contributing to countries' and the EU's NDCs.
In the first half of the project, FULFILL focused on developing the conceptual framework. To this end, a database of the relevant literature was built up, including more than 500 papers, book chapters, articles and grey literature selected and reviewed by the project partners. This aimed at establishing an operative definition of sufficiency: FULFILL understands the sufficiency principle as the creation of the social, infrastructural and regulatory conditions for changing individual and collective lifestyles in such a way that energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to an extent that they remain within planetary boundaries, while contributing to societal well-being.
This means, as a first step, taking an output-oriented perspective on sufficiency. We therefore focus on measuring and understanding lifestyles that have a high probability of reducing carbon emissions and protecting ecosystems to stay within planetary boundaries, while maintaining and enhancing quality of life. Furthermore, FULFILL argues for sufficiency as an overarching principle that enables (structural) change, but also requires enabling structures.
At the individual level, this should be partly visible in individual reductionist behaviour (e.g. no car use and increased use of public transport), a low overall carbon footprint, but also in people's values and attitudes (a high willingness to reduce consumption). At the meso- and macro- levels, this should be visible through the provision of infrastructure that enables individuals to choose options that follow the principles of sufficiency (e.g. access to services without a car for all) or the organisation of local communities (e.g. community gardening projects that enable citizens to grow the ingredients for a healthy vegetarian diet). Legislation and policy (e.g. requiring space for bicycles or line drying in buildings) are also highly relevant to enabling people to live more sufficiency-oriented lives.
In order to differentiate these multifaceted components, we developed the following definitions in the course of FULFILL, extracted from the literature review:
Sufficiency habits = Sufficiency measures taken by individuals as a result of permanent lifestyle changes.
Sufficiency infrastructures = physical and non-physical infrastructures that enable sufficiency habits.
Sufficiency societal frameworks = institutions, laws, norms that enable sufficiency habits and sufficiency infrastructure change.
Building on this initial conceptual work, empirical work at the micro and meso levels has begun as part of FULFILL. The developed concept has been developed into a research design to study individuals, households, initiatives and communities across Europe to better understand the conditions that enable and hinder sufficiency lifestyles. In addition, citizen science activities have already started.
This means, as a first step, taking an output-oriented perspective on sufficiency. We therefore focus on measuring and understanding lifestyles that have a high probability of reducing carbon emissions and protecting ecosystems to stay within planetary boundaries, while maintaining and enhancing quality of life. Furthermore, FULFILL argues for sufficiency as an overarching principle that enables (structural) change, but also requires enabling structures.
At the individual level, this should be partly visible in individual reductionist behaviour (e.g. no car use and increased use of public transport), a low overall carbon footprint, but also in people's values and attitudes (a high willingness to reduce consumption). At the meso- and macro- levels, this should be visible through the provision of infrastructure that enables individuals to choose options that follow the principles of sufficiency (e.g. access to services without a car for all) or the organisation of local communities (e.g. community gardening projects that enable citizens to grow the ingredients for a healthy vegetarian diet). Legislation and policy (e.g. requiring space for bicycles or line drying in buildings) are also highly relevant to enabling people to live more sufficiency-oriented lives.
In order to differentiate these multifaceted components, we developed the following definitions in the course of FULFILL, extracted from the literature review:
Sufficiency habits = Sufficiency measures taken by individuals as a result of permanent lifestyle changes.
Sufficiency infrastructures = physical and non-physical infrastructures that enable sufficiency habits.
Sufficiency societal frameworks = institutions, laws, norms that enable sufficiency habits and sufficiency infrastructure change.
Building on this initial conceptual work, empirical work at the micro and meso levels has begun as part of FULFILL. The developed concept has been developed into a research design to study individuals, households, initiatives and communities across Europe to better understand the conditions that enable and hinder sufficiency lifestyles. In addition, citizen science activities have already started.
FULFILL goes beyond the state of the art by explicitly focusing on sufficiency in research on lifestyles and lifestyle change. Its conceptual work helps to clarify that sufficiency is a broad concept that aims not only to reduce the climate impact of lifestyles, but also to maintain or increase individual and societal well-being which implies addressing health but also issues like gender equality. Based on this definition, new original empirical data is currently being collected and analysed to inform policy decisions that contribute to the decarbonisation of Europe. By developing and validating policy recommendations, FULFILL will demonstrate the potential contribution of sufficiency policies for reducing inequalities and making a just transition possible, in line with the EU and Member States' strategies for reducing the GHG emissions.