Targeted support and structural change: How to mainstream climate-friendly lifestyles
24.06.2026
A team of scientists led by Doris Fuchs, Director of the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS), has investigated how climate-friendly lifestyles can be mainstreamed across five European countries. Changes in the areas of transport and heating would yield the greatest emissions reductions and could cut average CO2 emissions per capita by up to 25 per cent by 2030 – provided the appropriate policy frameworks are in place.
According to the study “Enabling 1.5 °C lifestyles in Europe: Lifestyle options and structural change for transformation”, there are six measures that could achieve the highest per capita CO₂ reductions across Europe by 2030. The list is led by changing from car-based mobility (especially internal combustion engine vehicles) to public transport, cycling and walking, or to electric vehicles; this would reduce individual carbon footprints by up to 25 per cent. This is followed by switching from fossil-fuel heating systems to heat pumps or biomass boilers – which would result in a reduction of approximately 10 per cent. A predominantly vegan diet, or one that significantly reduces the consumption of animal products (the Planetary Health Diet, for example), would likely deliver a 9 per cent reduction. Reducing carbon-intensive leisure activities, particularly avoiding frequent and long-haul flights, could also make a significant difference. The authors of the study emphasise that these measures can only be implemented on a broad scale through far-reaching changes to political, economic and societal structures.
“The transition to a climate-friendly lifestyle is not a personal undertaking, rather it requires an all-of-society approach,” says lead author Doris Fuchs, commenting on the study’s findings. “Lifestyle changes that would lead to emissions reductions in line with the 1.5-degree target are facing significant obstacles. Our study shows that structural changes – initiated by actors in politics, business, and civil society – are necessary to overcome these obstacles; only then can we reduce emissions reductions to a sustainable level.”
Structural barriers and acceptance of measures
Stakeholder workshops identified seven key factors that hinder the adoption of low-carbon lifestyles:
- The continued, undifferentiated pursuit of economic growth, which encourages climate-damaging behaviour and economic practices .
- A lack of integration across different policy areas: transport, energy, housing and social affairs are often dealt with in silos.
- Vested interests and alliances between industry and politics that perpetuate the unsustainable status quo.
- A failure to internalise environmental and social costs, as well as ongoing subsidies, such as those for high-carbon heating systems.
- Wellbeing narratives are deeply intertwined with the economic growth paradigm, perpetuating a focus on consumption as a measure of success.
- Social inequalities that restrict access to sustainable options and political participation.
- Knowledge gaps that prevent citizens from understanding the relevance of climate protection and its practical implementation in everyday life.
Co-creative workshops held with citizens in Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain and Sweden showed that technology-based options, such as efficient lighting or heat pumps, achieved significantly higher acceptance rates – in some cases exceeding 90 per cent – than purely behaviour-based changes, such as reducing living space. Participants frequently cited costs, comfort and a lack of infrastructure as barriers. These must be addressed in order to make sustainable lifestyles convenient, attractive and fair.
Conclusion and recommendations for action
Even with almost complete implementation of the identified lifestyle options, the 2030 emissions targets will still not be met in several of the case countries. The study emphasises that in order to be effective, European climate protection strategies must operate on two levels, combining targeted support aimed at achieving high-impact behavioural changes with structural reforms that enable and stabilise these changes.
Workshops with stakeholders from politics, civil society and business in the five case countries, as well as at European level, identified three concrete strategies to mobilise for transformative change, with eco-social justice as a cornerstone of these efforts. In terms of policy measures, this means, above all, strengthening public services, for example through investment in public transport infrastructure or in eco-social housing. Measures such as these allow for reconciling social and environmental objectives rather than pitting them against one another. Furthermore, they are perceived as legitimate and fair. Both would strengthen democratic resilience.
Furthermore, the introduction of mandated, inclusive and transparent citizens’ assemblies offers a means to counter the influence of resource-rich interests and promote greater political equity. Only through an integrated approach that links changes in the areas of transport, heating and food systems with comprehensive political and economic reforms and social justice can the CO₂ reductions agreed in the Paris Agreement be achieved.
Publikation: Fuchs, D., Kreinin, H., Becker, L. M., Berendt, P. J., Brizga, J., Cap, S., Coscieme, L., Domröse, L., Dumitru, A., Laksevics, K., Lehner, M., Lettenmeier, M., Losada-Puente, L., Mont, O., Ozcelik, N., Plepys, A., Richter, J., Scherer, L., Tornow, M., Vadovics, E., Vadovics, K., & EU 1.5° Lifestyles Consortium (2026). Enabling 1.5 °C lifestyles in Europe: lifestyle options and structural change for transformation. Sustainability: science, practice, and policy, 22(1): 2657131. doi:10.1080/15487733.2026.2657131.
