| Title |
Assessing Lifestyle Transformations and Their Systemic Effects in Energy-System and Integrated Assessment Models: A Review of Current Methods and Data |
| ID_Doc |
11103 |
| Authors |
Andreou, A; Fragkos, P; Fotiou, T; Filippidou, F |
| Title |
Assessing Lifestyle Transformations and Their Systemic Effects in Energy-System and Integrated Assessment Models: A Review of Current Methods and Data |
| Year |
2022 |
| Published |
Energies, 15, 14 |
| DOI |
10.3390/en15144948 |
| Abstract |
Achieving the ambitious climate targets required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C requires a deep transformation of the supply-and-demand side of energy-environmental-economic systems. Recent articles have shown that environmentally sustainable consumer behaviors driven by lifestyle changes can significantly contribute to climate-change mitigation and sustainable development goals. However, lifestyle changes are not adequately captured by scenarios developed with integrated assessment and energy-system models (IAMs/ESMs), which provide limited policy insights. This article conducts a systematic review of the IAM and ESM literature to identify the most important lifestyle changes in current mitigation pathways for the residential and transport sectors, review the employed state-of-the-art modeling approaches and scenario assumptions, and propose improvements to existing methodological frameworks. The review finds that mode shifts towards public transport and active transport modes, shared mobility, and eco-driving have the greatest impact in the transport sector, while actions that reduce space and water-heating requirements and the circular economy are the most effective practices in households. Common modeling approaches lack sophistication as they omit (1) the dynamics and costs of demand-side transitions, (2) the heterogenous responses of different consumer groups, and (3) the structural effects of lifestyles on the macro-economy. New approaches employing innovative methodologies combined with big data collected from users offer new avenues to overcome these challenges and improve the modeling of lifestyle changes in large-scale models. |
| Author Keywords |
integrated assessment models (IAMs); energy-system models; behavioral change; lifestyle transformation; mitigation pathways |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:000831639300001 |
| WoS Category |
Energy & Fuels |
| Research Area |
Energy & Fuels |
| PDF |
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