International Industrial Ecology Day 2021

Carbon Footprint Reduction Potentials by Urban Lifestyle Changes: Comparison of 52 Japanese Cities and 65 Lifestyle Change Options

Abstract

Despite the increasing understanding of the carbon footprint heterogeneity between cities and consumer segments, existing research on the footprint reduction potentials of demand-side changes mainly focuses on country- or regional levels and does not consider subnational variations. This study proposes an approach to investigate city-specific carbon footprint reduction potentials and pathways through lifestyle changes. The city-level household carbon footprint of 52 major Japanese cities was estimated based on mixed-unit household consumption data combined with an input-output approach. The city-specific carbon footprint reduction potentials of 65 lifestyle change options covering mobility, housing, food, consumer goods, and leisure were quantified. Possible lifestyle change combinations that can reduce carbon footprints to comply with the 1.5-degree climate target were explored by modeling overlapping impacts between multiple options. Results revealed that city-specific footprint reduction potentials of lifestyle change options differ by as much as a factor of five among cities even within the same country. The scenario analysis of target-achieving pathways suggested that the combination of efficiency (e.g., the introduction of end-use technologies) and sufficiency (e.g., behavioral changes related to consumption amounts and modes) strategies are necessary to achieve decarbonized lifestyles within the climate target.

Author(s)

Name Affiliation
Ryu Koide National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)
Satoshi Kojima Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
Keisuke Nansai National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)
Michael Lettenmeier Aalto University
Kenji Asakawa Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
Chen Liu Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
Shinsuke Murakami The University Of Tokyo

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