麻豆淫院

Encouraging people in North America and Sub-Saharan Africa to adopt a low-carbon lifestyle could help to cut global household emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide by up to two-fifths, a new study reveals.

Researchers have identified 21 low-carbon actions that, if adopted by the top 23.7% of global emitters, could reduce global carbon footprints by 10.4 gigatons of CO₂ equivalent鈥攕ome 40.1% of household consumption-based emissions in the 116 countries analyzed.

Steps which households could take to create the maximum impact in reducing carbon levels include:

• Reducing the use of commercial services (potential reduction of 10.9%)
• Shifting towards a healthy vegan diet, reducing consumption of animal-based food, sugar, and unhealthy processed food products (potential reduction of 8.3%)
• Implementing energy-efficient building standards, with a potential reduction of 6.0%
• Moving from private vehicles to public transportation (potential reduction of 3.6%).
• Sharing and repairing home appliances (potential reduction of 3.0%)

Publishing their in Nature Communications, the researchers reveal that the impact of changes in consumption patterns related to mobility and services could contribute 11.8% and 10.2% of emission reductions, respectively.

As the University of Birmingham prepares to contribute to this year's COP30 environmental summit in Brazil, the experts note that North America shows substantial reduction potential, while some Sub-Saharan African鈥攕uch as Mauritius, Namibia, and Chad鈥攃ountries present unexpected mitigation possibilities.

The corresponding author, Dr. Yuli Shan, from the University of Birmingham, commented, "Our study shows that adopting low-carbon lifestyles can play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change. By targeting high-emitting households, we can achieve significant carbon reductions and move closer to our global climate targets."

Researchers analyzed household expenditure data targeting households exceeding the global per-capita average required to stay below 2 degrees Celsius鈥攑roviding a comprehensive analysis of the carbon reduction potential of various low-carbon actions.

Dr. Yuru Guan, the first author of the study, commented, "This study, a key component of my doctoral thesis, demonstrates that adopting consumption-based low-carbon strategies is essential for climate mitigation." Dr. Guan recently received her doctoral degree from the University of Groningen and now works as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham.

Their findings underscore the importance of engaging consumers in addressing climate change, highlighting the need for equitable measures that target high emitters while supporting those facing barriers to low-carbon transitions, such as energy poverty.

The other corresponding author, Professor Klaus Hubacek, from the University of Groningen, commented, "This research provides valuable insights into the potential of lifestyle changes for reducing carbon footprints. It is crucial for policymakers to consider these findings and implement strategies that encourage sustainable consumption patterns."