Sustainable Lifestyles of middle classes in India and Germany a - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sustainable Lifestyles of middle classes in India and Germany

a joint CANSA - Germanwatch project

Indian Pavilion Side Event, 13 Dec 2018 Rixa Schwarz, Germanwatch

Sustainable lifestyles for the transformation

• The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable

Development Goals help define the pathways for a paradigm shift towards a sustainable future Some guiding questions on sustainable lifestyles:

• How can this paradigm shift be supported by compatible sustainable

lifestyles?

• Which values can foster or support sustainable lifestyles?
• Which frameworks could foster sustainable lifestyles?
• How does/should the UNFCCC process support sustainable lifestyles?

What are sustainable lifestyles?

• Literature-based definition focusing on

environmental sustainability

• 5 areas: buildings, electricity, heating and cooling; air and road

transportation; food and nutrition; consumption (fashion and leisure & tourism) and investments

• No prescription of a fixed lifestyle but rather a protfolio of

different principles, leading to options for selected combinations to define the personal lifestyle

• Observation in the Indian context: lifestyles are a marketing /

advertisement topic; people are seen as consumers – a more people-centric research would be required – compared to German social studies

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Lifestyle / Consumption Choices

• In the socio-economic versus environment conflict,

the socio-economic interests tend to win („others do it too“)

• Main influences on our comsumption choices

– our peers, aspirations and status symbles – norms and trends – advertisment & marketing – individual self-fulfilment

• Social comparison can lead to perceived poverty;

perceived poverty can lead to materialism

• Voluntary simplicity – only the rich & educated, not

the middle classes

Socio-economic and cultural circumstances

Germany

• 24th of April, Germany reached its

national overshoot day for the year 2017

• Energiewende, climate targets, SDG

implementation through Sustainable Development Strategy

• in regard to personal lifestyles, some

Germans explore niches of sustainable living like in transition towns

• Lifestyle change is often avoided by the

trust in improved technologies that will do the job

• Parliamentary Study Commission on

growth, wellbeing and quality of life

India

• faces a dilemma in striving for

sustainable development along with fastest growing economy aspiring a 10% GDP/yr growth to provide stable livelihoods and employment.

• NDC, aims at low emissions intensity of

the GDP by 33 to 35 %; increase the share of non-fossil based power generation capacity to 40 % and at create additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 GtCO2e by 2030

• Indians were the top-scoring

environmentally sustainable consumers in the 2014 National Geographic/GlobeScan Consumer Greendex

Selected area: Mobility

Germany

• road towards the German

“Verkehrswende” is still long

• Car country Germany: 684 cars per

1000 Germans in 2017; hybrid vehicles and electro mobility far from mainstream

• public transportation, railways,

inter-city bus connections

• Car sharing: 15 000 users in 150

cities

• Bicycles: carrier bikes, “Cycle

Autobahn”

India

• In 2015, India showed a low car ownership of
• nly 32 cars /1,000 people but now middle

class Indian’s aspiration is to own car.

• The general preference is a SUV as it offers

comfort and safety – considering that 18% of the world’s road deaths occur in India with 1% of the world’s cars

• Small segment cars such as Tata Nano is an

attempt to address aspiration along with pollution, space and prestige issues.

• Public transport exist in only 65 cities
• GoI also announced an ambitious target of all-

electric vehicle sales by 2030.

• ambitious target shows that the gradual

dependence on the fossil fuel combustion engine is bound to decrease

• Sustainability in transport systems is priority

like taking off old commercial vehicles from road, imposing environment cess of INR 2,000

• n entry, etc…
• City planning experiments with dedicated

lanes for pedestrian and bicycles

• Avoid short air travels completely (take the train or bus), if long-distance flights

are unavoidable offset the emissions

• Switch to a provider of renewable electricity
• Insulate your building properly and reduce the rooms’ heating temperature
• Own no/ a small and economical car, use car-sharing and public transportation,

bike, skateboard or walk short distances

• Switch to a regional, seasonal and organic diet; eat less/no meat and dairy

produce

• Choose your bank according to sustainability criteria and make sustainable

investments, e.g. in solar energy

• Live in a smaller and comfortable living space
• Opt for energy-efficient appliances and use them only when needed
• Increase your political Handprint by engaging in society for sustainable

development (critical thinking & engagement)

• Halve your working time – less income, less consumption, more time

Germany

10 suggestions for the German and Indian urban middle classes

10 suggestions for the German and Indian urban middle classes

India

• Stick to a diet of fresh, seasonal and regional, organic vegetables and fruit, lentils and beans,

little/no meat and dairy produce

• If possible, go for renewable energy - and use efficient appliances even more wisely – e.g.

your AC (combine it with fan)

• Use public transport or car pool as much as possible, bike or walk short distances –

alternatively reduce your commuting distance and opt for a safe but small car

• Minimize water usage and collect grey water and use it to flush toilets or mop floors
• Improve your and your city’s waste management: refuse, reduce, reuse, re- and upcycle,

etc.

• Join ecotourism: avoid in-country flights (offsets for international flights), chose eco

hotels/resorts, keep Indian ecotourism standards and help ecotourism establish itself

• Increase your Handprint by engaging in society for sustainable development
• Stick to a medium-sized living space, preferably in a climate-fit designed building
• Remain at a largely sustainable consumption level by avoiding fast-fashion and quick

exchange of electronics , incl. smart phones, to newer models

• Keep your sense for efficient use of resources and materials also by sharing items

Drivers of sustainable lifestyles

• 1. Information and communication
• Education , framing, terminology, labels, Handprint
• 2. Citizen empowerment and platforms for cooperation
• peer-to-peer learning, repair café, co-living, co-working
• 3. Eco design and social standards for sustainable living
• Transformational eco design, eco design awards, green design

architecture

• 4. Innovative business models for sustainable lifestyles
• incubation centres and start-ups
• 5. Regulation and policy interventions
• Nudging, incentives, policies, subsidies, taxes

Features of a sustainable-lifestyle economy

Germany India

Economy of efficiency Economy of substitution Economy of sufficiency Circular economy Sharing / collaborative economy Repair economy Regional economy

Where are the challenges in Germany?

• Myth: technology as the only required

solution to climate change

• the inclined plane („die schiefe Ebene“,

Weizsäcker)

• Too little political attention to lifestyles

and on policies fostering them

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Thanks!

Rixa Schwarz: schwarz@germanwatch.org rixa.schwarz@ceegermany.org Decrease your footprint Increase your Handprint