Adding the Consumption Perspective - New Policy Brief

The consumption perspective needs to be included in local climate strategies. That would cover also the emissions caused by the consumption and-long distance travel. A low-carbon lifestyle provides opportunities for a high level of well-being. This are two of the conclusions of the Mistra Urban Futures project WISE. The policy recommendations of the findings are available as policy briefs in English and Swedish.

Cities are viewed as having particularly good opportunities for making substantial contributions to the global cooperation which can create conditions for an increased quality of life for people living today and for those in the future. The City of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology have, as part of the Mistra Urban Futures project “WISE – Well-being In Sustainable Cities”, collaborated since 2012 to develop and implement a consumption based perspective for the local climate strategy. It means to take responsibility not only for the greenhouse gas emissions occurring within the city but also from emissions occurring in other parts of the world as a result of the consumption of its residents. This close cooperation has embraced many elements: the definition of problems and research questions; knowledge production resulting in various types of publications; development of goals and strategies; and, practical experiences from implementing a consumption perspective in a large organization.

Based on this co-operation, five recommendations have been developed which can be useful for other cities that are considering taking increased responsibility for the climate impact from consumption.

Download the Policy Brief, in English or in Swedish

Further information: Jörgen Larsson, Chalmers University of Technology, author of the Policy Brief, or Jan Riise, Mistra Urban Futures, phone +46 708 642820

Photos from unsplash.com (Creative Commons-0): air travel, food and public consumption add to the total emissions caused by citizens