Quantifying potential climate mitigation consumption options

The research identifies 61 consumption options with positive mitigation potential by synthesizing 53 studies. The highest potentials are found in transport (car-free living, electric vehicles, reduced flying), housing (renewable electricity, renovation), and food (vegan diets). The top 10 options combined offer an average mitigation potential of 9.2 tCO2eq/cap, which the authors suggest can significantly contribute to 1.5-2°C targets, especially in high-income contexts.

• Approximately two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to household consumption, with an average global footprint of about 6 tCO2eq per person.
• In the transport sector, the most effective mitigation options are living without a car, switching to battery electric vehicles, and reducing long-distance flights, with a median reduction potential exceeding 1.7 tCO2eq/cap.
• Dietary changes, specifically adopting a vegan diet, provide the highest carbon savings in the food domain, with an average mitigation potential of 0.9 tCO2eq/cap and a median of 0.8 tCO2eq/cap.
• Within the housing domain, the highest mitigation potentials are achieved through shifting to renewable electricity (median 1.6 tCO2eq/cap) and refurbishment and renovation (median 0.9 tCO2eq/cap).
• The ten most impactful consumption options combined provide an average mitigation potential of 9.2 tCO2eq/cap, which could substantially help meet 1.5-2°C targets, particularly in high-income settings.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2020). Quantifying potential climate mitigation consumption options. https://www.sei.org/publications/quantifying-potential-climate-mitigation-consumption-options/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Quantifying potential climate mitigation consumption options. 2020. https://www.sei.org/publications/quantifying-potential-climate-mitigation-consumption-options/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Quantifying potential climate mitigation consumption options |date=22 April 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/quantifying-potential-climate-mitigation-consumption-options/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2020quantifying, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Quantifying potential climate mitigation consumption options}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/quantifying-potential-climate-mitigation-consumption-options/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }