{"id":1990,"date":"2019-07-01T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T14:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2019-07-01T14:48:43","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T14:48:43","slug":"household-consumption-policy-brief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/2019\/07\/01\/household-consumption-policy-brief\/","title":{"rendered":"The role of policy in reducing household carbon emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As we have seen from the recent wave of climate protests, even one individual \u2013 a 16-year old Swedish girl called Greta Thunberg \u2013 can make a huge difference when it comes to tackling climate change. If every household contributed to emissions reductions by making certain lifestyle changes, we could reach the temperature reduction targets enshrined in the Paris Agreement. So why is behaviour change not receiving more attention from policy makers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"policy<\/a>
The role of policy in reducing household carbon emissions (PDF 539 KB)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Research by Professor Benjamin Sovacool and colleagues<\/a> from across Europe has looked at the contributions households could make to emissions reduction and argues that there is potential for individuals to be at the heart of mitigation policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their new policy brief, based on a four-year project called\nHOPE (HOusehold Preference for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four\nEuropean high-income countries), shows that effective climate change mitigation\npolicies are needed to mobilise individual behaviour change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research shows that existing policies focus too much on\nthe supply side, with technical changes in energy production and supply\ninfrastructure being prioritised. The contribution of households is currently\nnot well understood and is usually seen as an afterthought. The project\nanalysed 250 distinct climate policy measures that could influence household\nemissions and found that these policies tend to be market-based approaches that\nindividualise responsibility for issues that are difficult to address without\ncoordinated collective action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The policy brief recommends that policy makers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n