The potential of Sharing Resources for mitigating carbon emissions and other environmental impacts

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Household sizes in countries of the European Union have been declining steadily, and this trend is set to continue in the future. This is likely to ‘slow down’ reductions of per capita carbon emissions because it reduces economies of scale within households. It is important to understand these ‘reduction offsets’ in order to design effective carbon reduction policies. This project will examine the role of declining household sizes for trends in per capita carbon emissions and other environmental impacts, using longitudinal and cross-sectional household expenditure datasets for EU countries, and input-output data on emissions and other environmental impacts. Qualitative expert interviews will be carried out to formulate policy recommendations, taking underlying sociological and demographic trends into account. This project therefore seeks to make an original empirical and theoretical contribution to understanding the ways in which consumption-based emissions and environmental impacts are embedded within broader socio-cultural trends. Its policy recommendations will help to design more effective carbon reduction policies. This fellowship will facilitate a unique two-way transfer of knowledge between the host, Dr Buchs, at the University of Leeds Sustainability Research Institute, and the ER, Dr Ivanova, from the Norwegian University of Technology and Science. Dr Ivanova, a trained economist, will contribute her skills in input-output carbon footprinting modelling and econometric analysis. She will gain new knowledge and skills in the sociological and mixed methods analysis of underlying trends of household emissions and environmental impacts, as advised by Dr Buchs who is an environmental social scientist. The fellowship will equip Dr Ivanova with new knowledge, research and project management skills, enabling her to establish herself as an internationally recognised academic in this field and a connector between research, policy and civil society.