Fostering 1.5 degrees lifestyles with urban partnerships

22 July 2021 | High Level Session at 9:30 CEST - 10:30 CEST and Workshop Session 14:30 CEST - 15:30 CEST

Recent studies such as the 1.5-Degree Lifestyles report illustrate the scale of the sustainable living challenge: the need for reductions of over 80 per cent in GHGs by 2050 from today’s intensity of lifestyles. This study proposes that we need to aim for per-capita lifestyle carbon footprint targets of 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2eq) by 2030, 1.4 tCO2eq by 2040 and 0.7 tCO2eq by 2050.

Similarly, shifting to renewable forms of energy production can enable us to achieve only a bit more than half of the required reductions in global GHG emissions. In order to tackle the remaining half, consumption patterns and dominant lifestyles need to be shifted with the support of circular economy interventions. Consumer choices for eco-designed products need to be available and accessible, waste within product chains and end-of-product-life need to be eliminated, keeping materials in use needs to be made easy for consumers, and regenerative forms of living need to be supported.

Cities, where consumption and production meet, provide the perfect leverage points for enabling 1.5 °C living. Recent household experiments for sustainable living such as the Future Lifestyles project show that enabling urban infrastructures and municipal services have to be in place. These transitions especially need to happen in three priority domains – nutrition, housing and mobility – which cover the majority (approx. 75 per cent) of city dwellers’ carbon footprints.

Watch the High Level Session Watch the Workshop Session

Run of Show

9:30 – 10:30 CEST | High Level Session

This session gives a new impetus to the importance of low-carbon lifestyles for climate change mitigation. After the opening note, a roundtable discussion will gather policymakers, academics and the business sector to provide perspectives on the role cities and other stakeholders play in enabling 1.5 degree living. This session will also mark the launch of the Human Settlements Pathway of the Marrakech Partnership Global Climate Action initiative, which Gonzalo Muñoz, UNFCCC High-Level Climate Champion, will announce.

Welcome Remarks

Moderator:

Ms. Burcu Tuncer, Head of Circular Development, ICLEI World Secretariat

Speakers:

Mr. Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI World Secretariat
Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, IGES President

Opening Note

Importance of consumption patterns in tackling climate change mitigation

Moderator:

Dr. Satoshi Kojima, Programme Director Kansai Research Center, IGES

Speaker:

Dr. Lewis Akenji, Managing Director, Hot or Cool

Multi-stakeholder roundtable

Policy, Business, Academy and NGOs Response:

What shall be the commitment of local governments and businesses to support 1.5 Degree lifestyles, and how have they demonstrated it so far?
What mix of policy instruments can further encourage and support 1.5 Degree Lifestyles?
What roles can national governments play in the implementation of those policies?
What can be done more with multi-stakeholder collaboration and what role can each play?

Moderator:

Dr. Atsushi Watabe, Programme Director, Sustainable Consumption and Production, IGES

Speakers:

Dr. Duncan Booker, COP26 Stakeholder Manager, Glasgow City Council
Mr. Sebastian Schlecht, Strategic Management Department of Environment, Mobility and Sport, City of Essen
Mr. Pelle Boberg, Climate Action Department, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Ms. Edina Vadovics, Senior Expert, Green Dependent Institute, Hungary
Dr. José A. Puppim de Oliveira, Faculty Member, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil
Mr. Brendan Edgerton, Director Circular Economy, WBCSD

Towards Glasgow COP26 Takeaways

Reflections from the UNFCCC Climate High-Level Champion on the importance of consumption-based actions to reach the climate goals (Launch of the Human Settlements – Climate Action Pathway – Waste & Consumption)

Speakers:

UNFCCC High Level Champion, Mr. Gonzalo Muñoz
Mr. Takeo Tokunari, Youth Ambassador of Japan on Sustainable Consumption and Production, UN Environment Programme Asia-Pacific Office

Closing Remarks

Invitation to the workshop session focusing on the Future Lifestyles project

Ms. Burcu Tuncer, Head of Circular Development, ICLEI World Secretariat
Dr. Satoshi Kojima, Programme Director Kansai Research Center, IGES

14:30 – 15:30 CEST | Workshop Session

The ‘Envisioning Future Low-Carbon Lifestyles and Transitioning Instruments’, 2019-2021, is a demonstration project through the United Nations’ One Planet network. Funded by the Government of Japan through its contribution to the 10YFP Trust Fund, administered by UNEP. This project is led by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan, in collaboration with the following organisations. Project partners from 5 countries worked in 6 cities to analyse the lifestyle carbon footprint and engaged with citizens to identify the possible lifestyle changes at each city toward achieving the 1.5-Degree target.

This session starts with the introduction of the overall achievements of the analysis and participatory process at 6 cities. Then it organises a roundtable discussion among experts working on the project at 6 cities to accentuate the importance of a city specific approach and engaging citizens to choose the transition pathways towards sustainable lifestyles.

Opening remarks

Moderator:

Ms. Burcu Tuncer, Head of Circular Development, ICLEI World Secretariat

Speaker:

Ms. Garrette E. Clark, Sustainable Lifestyles Programme Officer, Economy Division, UNEP One Planet Network Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme

Setting the stage

Fostering 1.5 degrees lifestyles with urban partnerships (explaining project methodology and process)

Speakers:

Dr. Satoshi Kojima, Programme Director Kansai Research Center, IGES
Ms. Aditi Khodke, Researcher, Sustainable Consumption and Production, IGES

Launch of project deliverables

The public launch of the microsites, 1.5 Degree Phase 1 report, upcoming policy documents
Announcement of Sustainable Lifestyles Competition 9 Winners

Speaker:

Dr. Luca Coscieme, Research Program Manager, Hot or Cool

Roundtable country partners & voices from the ground

Roundtable country partners: Lessons learnt and reflections from Cape Town, Kyoto, New Delhi, Nonthaburi, São Paulo and Yokohama on:

What is the significant benefit of adressing sustainable lifestyle at the scale of cities?
What is the limitation of city-specific approaches and how to overcome it?
What is the one difficulty and one opportunity to effectively incorporate the voices of people in policy making on sustainable lifestyles?

Moderator:

Mr. Vimlendu Jha, Executive Director and Environmentalist, Swechha, India

Speakers:

Cape Town: Ms. Jokudu Guya, Professional Officer, ICLEI South Africa
Kyoto: Dr. Kenji Asakawa, Program Manager, City Taskforce & Strategic Management Office, IGES
New Delhi: Mr. Ashim Berry, Program Manager, Swechha
Nonthaburi: Dr. Pasicha Chaikaew, Assistant Professor, Chulalongkorn University
São Paulo: Mr. Bruno Yamanaka, Research and Content Analyst, Akatu Institute
Yokohama: Dr. Chen Liu, Research Manager, Sustainable Consumption and Production, IGES

Closing remarks

Ms. Burcu Tuncer, Head of Circular Development, ICLEI World Secretariat
Dr. Satoshi Kojima, Programme Director Kansai Research Center, IGES

Organizers

In partnership with

Fostering 1.5 degrees lifestyles with urban partnerships