What we are doing
The IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C reemphasized the importance of early actions for climate change mitigation and indicated the demand-side actions and lifestyle changes as important elements to limit the global temperature increase within 1.5°C . However, realizing these demand-side changes remain hampered by several factors. First, there is a very limited quantitative understanding of how much proposed changes in lifestyles could contribute to mitigating environmental problems. Second, even with a generalized understanding of the magnitude of importance of some lifestyle changes, there is still limited evidence of feasibility or acceptability of such changes by households and society. Third, drastic changes of the magnitude suggested by the 1.5°C target by 2050 need capacity building and tools to support people who are willing to undertake these changes and for policy makers who want to promote measures towards sustainable lifestyles. This project builds on earlier efforts led by IGES and partners to address these gaps. This issue impacts on local and regional governments because more than half of the global population live in cities and towns, and cities have an important role to play in providing information, incentives and infrastructure that allow citizens to live more sustainable lifestyles. The South African component of this research focuses on Cape Town, but the City's involvement in the activity is expected to be minimal. However, the outputs of the research will be of use to the City and others in South Africa, and will be conveyed to them at the end of the project.
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