Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Climate and Sufficient Consumption Levels: Policy implicatons of the current knowledge and debate on sustainable consumption levels, sufficiency and degrowth

Levin, Emil LU (2012) MVEM30 20121
Studies in Environmental Science
Abstract
A society's greenhouse gas emissions are closely related to its volumes of consumption. Efficiency gains and changes in the consumption mix are important, but will not be enough to reach sustainable levels of consumption-based emission.
This thesis examines the literature on degrowth and sufficient consumption levels to find out what the current knowledge and proposed policy strategies are. Unsolved issues and pitfalls in creating policy for reaching sustainable consumption levels are brought along into an interview survey among Swedish policy leader in the field of degrowth and sustainable consumption. This is to examine whether the Swedish debate differs from the international academic discourse, whether the Swedish respondents have... (More)
A society's greenhouse gas emissions are closely related to its volumes of consumption. Efficiency gains and changes in the consumption mix are important, but will not be enough to reach sustainable levels of consumption-based emission.
This thesis examines the literature on degrowth and sufficient consumption levels to find out what the current knowledge and proposed policy strategies are. Unsolved issues and pitfalls in creating policy for reaching sustainable consumption levels are brought along into an interview survey among Swedish policy leader in the field of degrowth and sustainable consumption. This is to examine whether the Swedish debate differs from the international academic discourse, whether the Swedish respondents have any novel policy proposals, and whether Sweden is deemed to have any unique potentials or obstacles in implementing policies for reaching sustainable consumption levels.
Conclusions include the need for spreading a deepened growth-critical debate in Sweden and elsewhere. There are significant knowledge gaps in how to design and implement comprehensive policies for lowering consumption levels, and further research is needed in order to make them feasible. However, a heightened presence of sustainability issues in the public and political debate could go a long way towards making such policies democratically legitimate and politically practicable. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Levin, Emil LU
supervisor
organization
course
MVEM30 20121
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
3469586
date added to LUP
2013-02-18 10:53:04
date last changed
2013-02-18 10:53:04
@misc{3469586,
  abstract     = {{A society's greenhouse gas emissions are closely related to its volumes of consumption. Efficiency gains and changes in the consumption mix are important, but will not be enough to reach sustainable levels of consumption-based emission.
	This thesis examines the literature on degrowth and sufficient consumption levels to find out what the current knowledge and proposed policy strategies are. Unsolved issues and pitfalls in creating policy for reaching sustainable consumption levels are brought along into an interview survey among Swedish policy leader in the field of degrowth and sustainable consumption. This is to examine whether the Swedish debate differs from the international academic discourse, whether the Swedish respondents have any novel policy proposals, and whether Sweden is deemed to have any unique potentials or obstacles in implementing policies for reaching sustainable consumption levels.
	Conclusions include the need for spreading a deepened growth-critical debate in Sweden and elsewhere. There are significant knowledge gaps in how to design and implement comprehensive policies for lowering consumption levels, and further research is needed in order to make them feasible. However, a heightened presence of sustainability issues in the public and political debate could go a long way towards making such policies democratically legitimate and politically practicable.}},
  author       = {{Levin, Emil}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Climate and Sufficient Consumption Levels: Policy implicatons of the current knowledge and debate on sustainable consumption levels, sufficiency and degrowth}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}