Well-being and climate

change mitigation:
the Living Well
Within Limits approach

EPFL, Environment Engineering

Seminar Series Professor Julia Steinberger
26/2/2019
Visiting University of Geneva & UNRISD
Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds
J.K.Steinberger@leeds.ac.uk @jksteinberger http://lili.leeds.ac.uk
 Outline
Motivation for the Living Well Within
Limits [LiLi] research
1. Understanding well-being
2. Conceptualising links between energy &
well-being
3. International context: Testing a “Safe & Just
Operating Space” for humanity
Political processes and activism
Motivation

October 8, 2018 3
 Implications
1. Urgent & large scale action is required
(“Radical emission reductions”)
o Getting to zero or close WITHIN next
twenty years.
2. Fastest & surest way to do that is
reduce consumption
o Reducing consumption doesn’t require
new technology or infrastructure.
3. But to date very little (no?) research
into how consumption could be
reduced while preserving/enhancing
well-being.

“We haven’t even TRIED mitigation yet.” Kevin Anderson

4
 Big research questions of the
Living Well Within Limits [LiLi] project
 What kinds of consumption are
necessary for (associated with)
well-being?
 Why, and at what levels?
 What are the factors that would
allow consumption to be
reduced below existing levels
without negatively effecting
well-being?
 And what are the political
economy factors that trap us in
high consumption?
5
 Living Well
The LiLi analytic framework Within
Limits [LiLi]

BIOPHYSICAL INPUTS PROVISIONING SOCIAL OUTCOMES

SYSTEMS
Planetary Natural Physical Need Well-being
Processes Resources satisfiers
Infrastructure, Physical &
Hydrological Energy, Technology, Food & water, mental
cycle, Materials, Land use, Housing, health,
Carbon cycle, Land, Supply Chains. Healthcare, Autonomy of
Solar Water, Education, agency,
radiation, Etc. Social Relationships, Cognitive
Biodiversity, Economic understandin
Nitrogen State, security, g,
cycle, Markets, Physical Social
Etc. Communities, safety, participation,
Institutions, Childhood Life
Norms, safety, satisfaction,
Culture, Safe birth Etc.
Distribution. control &
childbearing.

O’Neill, Fanning, Lamb & Steinberger 2018, Nature Sustainability


Universal human needs
Maslow, Max-Neef, Doyal & Gough.
Culturally-specific satisfiers.
HUMAN
WELL-
BEING
Preference satisfaction
Bentham. Neoclassical economics.
Utility function maximising through
consumption of goods & services.

Well-being
Happiness 
Capabilities
Kahneman, Layard
Human development
Subjective psychological
Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum
assessment.
Opportunities and freedom.
Functioning within society.
Eudaimonic
Hedonic
Flourishing
Pleasure principle
Aristotle
Epicurus
7
Inspiration John O’Neill 2006, sunshine diagram from Lina Brand Correa
Not “just” theoretical: matters for HUMAN
WELL-
BEING
climate change mitigation

Lamb & Steinberger, 2017, WIRES Climate Change

Measurement & theory: social vs. HUMAN
WELL-
individual assessment of well-being BEING

Most suited to sustainability Dominant in policy & research,

research, social focus individual focus
Well-being Hedonic (maximising pleasure,
Eudaimonic (flourishing)
assessment minimising pain)
 Outcomes: health, education,  Income & expenditure
political participation, etc. studies (well-being as
 Means (satisfiers): public maximising utility through
expenditure budgets on health consumption, as making
& education, available choices given budgetary
Objective
infrastructure and vital services constraints).
and/or non-
(hospitals, schools, trained
individual
doctors and teachers, etc.).
 Community participatory
method: Max-Neef’s Human-
Scale Development matrix of
needs and satisfiers.
Individual &  Happiness
subjective  Evaluative assessment (satisfaction with life)

Brand Correa & Steinberger 2017, Ecological Economics

 Satisfiers SATIS-
FIERS
Common concept across Human Needs approaches.

Max-Neef human-scale development matrix

BEING HAVING DOING INTERACTING
(personal or (institutions, (personal or (spaces or
collective norms, tools) collective atmospheres)
Needs: attributes) action)
Subsistence
Protection Consumption is not
the only type
Affection of need satisfier!
Understanding
Participation
Idleness
Creation
Identity
Freedom
 Gough & Max-Neef: satisfiers as SATIS-
FIERS
intermediates between needs and material
goods (=environmental impacts)
Conventional economics:
Material
goods & DIRECT RELATION Wants
services (also needs)

Human-Scale Development & Human Needs

Material
Satisfiers
Satisfiers Needs
goods & Satisfiers (universal)
services

Indirect relation:
Better for analysis and decoupling

11
Eudaimonic (needs-based) Living Well
Within
well-being & satisfiers Limits [LiLi]

BIOPHYSICAL INPUTS PROVISIONING SOCIAL OUTCOMES

SYSTEMS
Planetary Natural Physical Need Well-being
Processes Resources satisfiers
Infrastructure, Physical &
Hydrological Energy, Technology, Food & water, mental
cycle, Materials, Land use, Housing, health,
Carbon cycle, Land, Supply Chains. Healthcare, Autonomy of
Solar Water, Education, agency,
radiation, Etc. Social Relationships, Cognitive
Biodiversity, Economic understandin
Nitrogen State, security, g,
cycle, Markets, Physical Social
Etc. Communities, safety, Theory of participation,
Institutions, Childhood Life
Human Need
Norms, safety, satisfaction,
Culture, Safe birth Doyal & Etc.
Distribution. control & Gough 1991
childbearing.

O’Neill, Fanning, Lamb & Steinberger 2018, Nature Sustainability

 Empirical evidence that HUMAN
SATIS-
multidimensional need satisfaction is FIERS
WELL-
BEING
a pre-condition for well-being

O’Neill, Fanning, Lamb & Steinberger 2018, Nature Sustainability

 Connecting energy supply, physical Living Well
Within
provision, services, satisfiers & needs. Limits [LiLi]

Energy Energy Satisfiers Needs

required services

Technology
& infrastr.

Choice of
provision

satisfiers
Physical
options

PRIMARY PROVI- HUMAN

ENERGY SATIS-
ENERGY SIONING WELL-
SERVICES FIERS
SYSTEMS BEING
Decoupling
Opportunities
 Community level participatory research, connecting
energy services as satisfiers of human needs

ENERGY SATIS- HUMAN

SERVICES FIERS? NEEDS

Brand-Correa, Martin-Ortega & Steinberger,

2018, ERSS
15
 A safe and just operating space for
humanity: below planetary boundaries and
above social thresholds
First of all, can we empirically test
Kate Raworth’s Doughnut?
Planetary Boundaries & Social Thresholds
Biophysical Indicators and their Boundaries
Biophysical Indicator Planetary Boundary Per Capita Boundary
CO2 Emissions 2 °C warming 1.61 t CO2 y-1
Phosphorus 6.2 Tg P y-1 0.89 kg P y-1
Nitrogen 62 Tg N y-1 8.9 kg N y-1
Blue Water 4000 km3 y-1 574 m3 y-1
eHANPP 18.2 Gt C y-1 2.62 t C y-1
Ecological Footprint 1.72 gha y-1
Material Footprint 7.2 t y-1

Social Indicators and their Thresholds

Social Indicator Threshold
Human Life Satisfaction 6.5 on 0–10 Cantril ladder scale
Well-being Healthy Life Expectancy 65 years
Nutrition 2700 kcal per capita
Sanitation 95% of people have access to improved sanitation facilities
Income 95% of people earn above $1.90 a day
Access to Energy 95% of people have electricity access
Need
Education 95% enrolment in secondary school
Satisfiers
Social Support 90% of people have friends or family they can depend on
Democracy 0.80 (approximate US/UK value)
Equality 70 on 0–100 scale (GINI index of 0.30)
Employment 94% employed (6% unemployment)

O’Neill, Fanning, Lamb & Steinberger 2018, Nature Sustainability

Selected National Results
Switzerland Sri Lanka

O’Neill, Fanning, Lamb & Steinberger 2018, Nature Sustainability

Where We
Need to Be

?
 We Have a Cool Webpage!
https://goodlife.leeds.ac.uk
What about the social context and
constraints of provision?
 Why do people use cars?
PROVI-
ENERGY SATIS- HUMAN
SIONING
SERVICES FIERS NEEDS
SYSTEMS

Adequate
Need: Economic Security Adequate Food
Healthcare
Need System of
1st order System of food Healthcare systems,
Satisfiers: employment,
(Sociotechnical production and location of available
division of labour,
Provisioning distribution, location doctors, relevant
location of
Systems) of retailers … clinics/hospitals …

Based on Mattioli 2016 ERSS

workplaces …
2nd order (type Supermarket food Visit to doctor or
Paid employment
or institution) shopping hospital

3rd order (Energy

Road transport Road transport Road transport
Service)
4th order
(Conversion Car Car Car
Device)

Conclusion: provisioning systems create car dependency.

 Understanding how energy demand is
created: the case of car dependency
1. Car
industry Energy demand
research requires
5. Car 2. Roads historical, political &
culture & parking institutional analysis
if we are to escape
high energy
consumption:
4. Neglect 3. Land not just engineering
public use for & economics.
transport cars

Mattioli et al in preparation 24
The political economy of car-dependency:
an anatomy of lock-in

Mattioli et al, in preparation

 From understanding to action
• Urgency of climatic situation
does not allow for gradualistic
transitions (in research or
reality), but calls for radical
transformation.
• Popular movements (student
strikes world-wide, Sunrise
Movement in USA, Extinction
Rebellion in UK) all realise this.
• Is our research supporting
them? How can we contribute
and participate?
 Elements of (my) answers
 Give public support to activist movements: align academic
with forces for positive, rapid change, not delay.
 Avoid traditional academic response of “I wouldn’t
quite have said it that way.” Become politically
astute.
 Go into schools. Share your knowledge.
 Refuse to legitimize delaying/incremental answers rooted
in neoclassical economic understanding (including
engineering & technical policy).
 Give students & activists critical tools to unpick
these.
 Participate in agenda setting, at local (municipal/regional)
and national scales.
 Align social & environmental goals: don’t fall into trap of
pitting these against each other.
 USA Green New Deal is excellent example of social &
environmental integration, and being adapted in the
UK.
 Thank you.
• Any questions?