Study: Outlook on lifestyles in 2050 and factor 4

Teams involved:
- Laboratoire Espaces Géographiques et Sociétés (ESO), Université du Maine
- Centre Maurice Halbwachs (CMH), Université de Caen
- Groupe de recherche sur la socialisation, Université de Lyon 2
- Laboratoire Dynamiques sociales et recomposition des espaces (LADYSS), Université Paris X
- CADISS, EHESS, Paris
- AUS-LTMU, Laboratoire Théorie des Mutations Urbaines, UMR 7136 CNRS, Université Paris 8
- Energies Demain
- Futur Facteur 4
- IDDRI

The 75% cut in carbon emissions by 2050 is an objective that is now largely shared. It requires drastic changes in cities, especially in terms of urban forms and lifestyles, elements that structure the energy and ecological footprint of cities.

The research project first aims at analysing changes in lifestyles among urban dwellers, which induce behaviours that generate greenhouse gases, and identifying the key variables of this change. The analysis will involve monitoring the latest developments at the international level and workshops calling on researchers and experts. Using these observations, an exercise in building visions of lifestyles in 2050 will be developed based on the workshops, within the project’s steering committee. The literary translation of these visions will allow us to outline and compare “life stories” according to whether or not they are capable of producing a “post-carbon” society.

These visions of the future in 2050 will then be translated into quantified scenarios assessing their impact in terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions. This research project is resolutely part of a forward-looking approach aimed at producing different images of the future, debating them and finally using them to draw lessons for action.

Contact: Carine Barbier