Eco-sufficiency

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eco-sufficiency requires a reduction of the level of production/consumption in those parts of the world with the highest standards of living beyond reducing the use of natural resources as well as waste and emissions per unit of production/consumption (=decoupling/delinking). Given a very loose relation in rich countries between material wealth, GDP and human well-being, this might be possible even without reducing the latter, while, for example, increasing leisure and non-material activities for well-being.

There are potentials to reduce substantially the use of natural resources without compromising human wealth. However, many studies show that economic growth “eats up” these gains at least partially: if the economy grows by 2 % p.a. we need an increasing resource productivity by 4 % in order to achieve a 2 % reduction of the absolute resource use. While eco-efficiency aims to improve the effectiveness of material, energy, and land use, eco-sufficiency aims at reducing negative environmental consequences through a reduction of the demand for consumer goods.

Eco-sufficiency is closely related to issues of quality of life and work-life balance. It can to some extent be achieved on the individual level, e.g. through energy savings, reduction of transport and change in diets (less meat). However, it also requires a change in social frameworks, provided on the national or European level, including measures such as environmental taxes, environmental planning and new concepts of labour.

A wide spread of eco-sufficiency will only occur, if people find the new lifestyles sufficiently attractive. It needs to be shown that less material wealth can bring increased well-being or happiness to individuals and societies.

An important aspect here is related to the so-called work-and-spend cycle. If leisure and forms of work other than employment (incl. self-employment), such as caring, do it yourself and community work gain relevance, income - and therefore consumption - would be reduced.