The world’s roadways are clogged with vehicles, most of them burning fossil fuels. In most high-income countries, personal transport is the lifestyle domain with the largest contribution to the overall lifestyle footprint. Currently, around 80% of global energy and 66% of electrical generation are supplied from fossil fuels. Switching to renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind or hydroelectric power, also means less pollution and new and better jobs. In developed countries, the average living space per person has dramatically increased over the past decades. Increasing the thermostat setting from 24☌ to 28☌ during the cooling season can reduce annual cooling energy use by more than a factor of three for a typical office building in Zurich, Switzerland.Įnergy demand for cooling is the fastest growing end-use in buildings, with ten air conditioners expected to be sold every second over the next 30 years.Įmissions from air conditioning and refrigeration are expected to rise 90% from 2017 levels by 2050.īeing mindful of the living space you need is important, too. Phasing out fossil fuels for home heating is crucial, for instance by banning on new gas-fired boilers and introducing electric heat pumps. Globally, residential and commercial buildings, consume over half of all electricity. The energy supply sector (electricity, heat, and other energy) is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for approx. Although some 750 million people in the world still lack access to electricity, for the rest, everything from a computer to a television to a refrigerator needs energy. Use this Lifestyle Calculator to see your carbon footprint and find out how your choices impact the planet, allowing you to make climate-smart decisions.Įlectricity drives our lifestyles. And the Group of 20 major economies (G20) accounts for 78% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In high-income countries, the material footprint per capita – the amount of primary materials needed to meet our needs - is more than 10 times larger than in low-income countries. We are using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life, and ecosystems cannot keep up with our demands. The extraction and processing of materials, fuels and food contribute half of total global greenhouse gas emissions and over 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress. Resource extraction has more than tripled since 1970, including a 45% increase in fossil fuel use. Living sustainably also has the potential to improve health and well-being for all.ĭemand for natural resources is at an all-time high and continues to grow - for food, clothing, water, housing, infrastructure and other aspects of life. Making it easier for people to use cleaner forms of transport or eat more plant-based foods, for instance, can help shift consumption patterns, particularly among the world’s wealthiest, and could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 40-70% by 2050. Governments and businesses have an important role to play in supporting the necessary lifestyle changes by putting in place the right policies, infrastructure and incentives. The wealthiest bear the greatest responsibility: the combined emissions of the richest one percent of the global population are larger than the combined emissions of the poorest 50 percent. We make hundreds of thousands of decisions during our lives. The choices we make and the lifestyles we live have a profound impact on our planet. In fact, our lifestyles are responsible for an estimated two thirds of global emissions.
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