Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-4 (section)

==== 4.2.5.11 Lowering Demand, Downscaling Economies ====

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Studies have identified socio-technological pathways to help achieve net zero CO 2 and GHG targets at national scale, that in aggregate are crucial to keeping global temperature below agreed limits. However, most of the literature focuses on supply-side options, including carbon dioxide removal mechanisms (BECCS, afforestation, and others) that are not fully commercialised (Cross-Chapter Box 8 in Chapter 12). Costs to research, deploy, and scale up these technologies are often high. Recent studies have addressed lowering demand through energy conversion efficiency improvements, but few studies have considered demand reduction through efficiency ( [[#Grubler--2018|Grubler et al. 2018]] ) and the related supply implications and mitigation measures.

Five main drivers of long-term energy demand reduction that can meet the 1.5°C target include quality of life, urbanisation, novel energy services, diversification of end-user roles, and information innovation ( [[#Grubler--2018|Grubler et al. 2018]] ). A Low Energy Demand scenario requires fundamental societal and institutional transformation from current patterns of consumption, including: decentralised services and increased granularity (small-scale, low-cost technologies to provide decentralised services), increased use value from services (multi-use vs single use), sharing economies, digitalisation, and rapid transformation driven by end-user demand. This approach to transformation differs from the status quo and current climate change policies in emphasising energy end-use and services first, with downstream effects driving intermediate and upstream structural change.

Radical low-carbon innovation involves systemic, cultural, and policy changes and acceptance of uncertainty in the beginning stages. However, the current dominant analytical perspectives are grounded in neoclassical economics and social psychology, and focus primarily on marginal changes rather than radical transformations ( [[#Geels--2018|Geels et al. 2018]] ). Some literature is beginning to focus on mitigation through behaviour and lifestyle changes, but specific policy measures for supporting such changes and their contribution to emission reductions remain unclear ( [[#4.4.2|Section 4.4.2]] and Chapter 5).

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