High with low: Harnessing the power of demand-side solutions for high wellbeing with low energy and material demand

M Sugiyama, C Wilson, D Wiedenhofer, B Boza-Kiss, T Cao, JS Chatterjee, S Chatterjee, T Hara, A Hayashi, Y Ju, V Krey, MF Godoy León, L Martinez, E Masanet, A Mastrucci, J Min, L Niamir, S Pelz, J Roy, Y Saheb, R Schaeffer, D Ürge-Vorsatz, B van Ruijven, Y Shimoda, E Verdolini, F Wiese, Y Yamaguchi, C Zell-Ziegler, C Zimm · Joule · 2024

The evidence base for demand-side solutions needs better models, better data and better policy analysis

Read the published paper ↗doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.12.014

We define demand-side solutions as policies, interventions and measures that modify demand for goods and services to reduce material and energy requirements and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. They also contribute to other policy objectives, such as improved wellbeing and living standards. The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report included a dedicated chapter on demand-side measures for the first time. It showed that such measures could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from end-use sectors by 40–70% by 2050, without compromising service levels and with improvements to wellbeing. Nevertheless, demand-side solutions remain underrepresented and underprioritised in research and policy, and we argue that a more comprehensive evidence base is urgently needed.

Such solutions enable the design of 'High with Low' scenarios, which promote high inclusive wellbeing with low energy and material demand. Lowering demand reduces the size of the biophysical economy, which is easier to decarbonise with renewables and other granular (small-unit) low-carbon supply technologies. This in turn reduces risky reliance on large-scale carbon dioxide removal, which at the order of 10 GtCO2 per year forces complex trade-offs, including competition for land between food and bioenergy. Yet low energy and material demand scenarios are explored in only a small number of studies, and models tend to lack the resolution to analyse demand-side transformation. In the IPCC AR6 scenarios, energy services are reported more than four times less frequently than primary energy.

We identify three research priorities. First, a wider scope and greater variety of models and scenarios is needed, complementing integrated assessment models with sectoral, engineering and agent-based traditions and coupling them where useful. Second, better data on demand, services and wellbeing are needed to design and calibrate those models. National panel surveys can help, from long-standing efforts such as the United States Residential Energy Consumption Survey to those now emerging in the Global South. Third, evidence should extend beyond government policy to societal action and new business models, including digitalisation, which IPCC scenarios have not explicitly addressed.

@article{sugiyama_high_2024,
	title = {High with low: {Harnessing} the power of demand-side solutions for high wellbeing with low energy and material demand},
	volume = {8},
	copyright = {All rights reserved},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.12.014},
	doi = {10.1016/j.joule.2023.12.014},
	number = {1},
	journal = {Joule},
	author = {Sugiyama, Masahiro and Wilson, Charlie and Wiedenhofer, Dominik and Boza-Kiss, Benigna and Pelz, Setu and Zimm, Caroline},
	year = {2024},
	pages = {1--6},
}