Now, the international campaign "1.5°C Challenges" is kicking off across several European countries, featuring a series of citizens’ challenges over the coming months. Based on the new, multi-disciplinary research from the EU 1.5° Lifestyles research project, we want to spread the word on why our everyday habits are crucial in meeting the climate targets, and which new, smart habits provide the greatest climate benefits. Our goal is to inspire change and encourage new lifestyle habits, based on the latest research findings from several European countries.
The first challenge is "Car-Free Living": Do you choose public transport over driving? Do you prefer to bike rather than taking the car? Have you switched to an electric vehicle? We invite you to inspire others by sharing examples from your daily life. Submit your story by November 30!
About the 1,5°C Lifestyles Challenges
- When you submit your inspiring story or photo on the EU 1,5°C Lifestyles Challenges page, you take part in the prize draw.
- For each challenge, we draw 5 winners who each win two cinema tickets!
- You can choose your language, but please select Sweden as country in order to compete for the cinema tickets.
- We aim for publishing inspiring stories and photos online, but you can choose to stay anonymous.
The campaign is built up around four themes: transport, holidays, food and climate-friendly lifestyles:
Challenge 1: Car-free Living November 2024
In this challenge, we are asking you to #movecarfree #bilfrivardag and put down your car for as many days of each week as possible. Why? Lifestyle changes related to everyday mobility is the most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
Challenge 2: The Winter Holiday Challenge
December 2024
In the second challenge, we will be inviting you to celebrate a #onepointfiveholiday #klimatsmartjul with lower carbon footprint.
Challenge 3: The Food Challenge
January 2025
Then, in the third challenge, we will be asking participants to switch to a plant-based diet, and minimize food waste as much as possible. #plantbasednowaste #klimatsmartmat
Why? By reducing animal products and avoiding food waste, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint.
Challenge 4: The 1.5° Footprint Challenge
February 2025
In the final challenge, we are urging you to calculate your carbon footprint and find out what your most important lifestyle impact is towards reaching #onepointfivefootprint #1,5klimatavtryck.
A campaign in six European countries
The 1,5°C Lifestyles Challenges is being conducted by the partner organisations in Spain, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Hungary. You’re welcome to look out on the following pages:
- in English and Swedish by IIIEE, Lund University: LinkedIn and X
- in German by RIFS Research Institute for Sustainability Potsdam: LinkedIn and X
- in Spanish by the University of A Coruna: X, Facebook and Instagram
- in Hungarian by GreenDependent Institute: LinkedIn and Facebook
- in Latvian by Green Liberty Institute: LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
- and in Finnish by D-Mat: the campaign can be followed on Instagram pages
- in English by the EU 1,5°C Lifestyles central project team: LinkedIn, Facebook and X
We are also collaborating with organisations such as NGOs and municipalities to partner with us or join our campaign. We hope to see you on one or more of these pages!
About the EU 1.5°C Lifestyles Project
The EU 1,5°C Lifestyles project is a European research project conducted by nine universities and research institutes across seven countries, and over four years, and it is funded by Horizon 2020. The research focuses on the climate footprints of individual lifestyles and how these can be reduced to align with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. The starting point is the observation that currently most strategies for the green transition prioritize industrial emissions mitigation, while emissions from household consumption are often overlooked.
The research project includes:
- Detailed calculations of the climate benefits of changing everyday habits and lifestyles in five European countries, including Sweden;
- Analysis of which lifestyles need to change to meet the 1.5°C target;
- Identification of policy measures that can help individuals change their habits;
- Assessment of people's acceptance of new climate-friendly habits and strategies to increase acceptance.
The research project is unique in terms of its detailed calculations of the changes of individual consumption and lifestyles that are required to meet the 1.5°C target. The research is also unique in terms of research breadth and scale, both in terms of the cross-disciplinary nature of the research, the number of participating European research institutions and number of citizen research studies included in the project.
