Towards Low-Carbon Lifestyles
ICTA-UAB International Conference, Barcelona, 6-8 May 2020
Contact: icta.conference2020@uab.cat
Website: ictaweb.uab.cat/conference2020
#ICTA2020 #LowCarbonLifestyles

Rationale

This conference will explore the role of changing lifestyles in climate change mitigation. Decreasing energy demand and promoting more sustainable consumption patterns are regarded as key elements for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. However, the study of the lifestyle changes required for such purpose has received limited academic attention to date. As is tradition at ICTA-UAB, this conference will bring together researchers from different academic disciplines to address and discuss the impacts, drivers and policies of low-carbon lifestyles.

Conference Themes

Drivers
What are the social, economic, and psychological drivers of carbon-intensive lifestyles?
This theme aims to increase our understanding of why we choose certain lifestyles, and how our decisions depend on our social norms and institutions. Contributions using comparative approaches are also welcome, to highlight how the question of lifestyles differs between different social classes, countries and cultures.

Impacts
What is the mitigation potential of different lifestyle changes?
This theme aims to quantify the environmental impact of different ways of living. We want to understand what changes matter most for a transition to a low-carbon society. We also invite contributions that investigate related problems of environmental accounting, the ‘rebound effect’, and environmental problem shifting.

Policies
How can low-carbon lifestyles be promoted through public policy?
The interest of the final theme is to analyze the impact of demand-side policies. We look for models and empirical research that examine the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of such policies, as well as other possible side-effects. Contributions focusing on political and public support or opposition of policies are also welcome.

Keynote Speakers

Lorraine Whitmarsh - Professor of Environmental Psychology, and Director of the UK Centre for Climate Change & Social Transformations (CAST)
Angela Druckman - Professor of Sustainable Consumption and Production at the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey
Céline Guivarch - Professor of Climate Change Economics and Modelling at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and Lead Author for 6th IPCC Assessment Report.

Submit your Abstract

We invite contributions from any field of research that addresses the topic of lifestyle changes along one of the 3 themes. Applicants have to submit an abstract of up to 250 words by 15/01/2020 at www.lifestyle-changes.org/call. The abstract should include research context, the problem or question that is addressed, methods, results and conclusion of the study. All authors will be informed about the selection outcome by 15/02/2020.

Contributions can be presented through an oral or a poster presentation. Each presenter will be allocated 15 minutes for the oral presentation. Remote participation will also be possible. Outstanding, non-published papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in a special issue on lifestyle changes, for example in the Journal of Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.

Registration

Upon acceptance, participants will have to register at www.lifestyle-changes.org/registration. The registration period will be open between 15/02/2020 and 10/03/2020.

There will be a standard attendance fee of 100€ or a reduced fee of 50€, which can be requested by participants who state that they have limited financial means. To encourage low-carbon travel, those who can prove that they travelled to the conference without taking a plane can get 1/2 of the conference fee refunded. For remote participation there will be no conference fee.

A maximum of 200 people will be able to attend the conference in person. If spots are available, registration will be opened to participants without presentations. The conference plenaries will further be live-streamed at www.lifestyle-changes.org and there will be a public plenary debate between the keynote speakers on May 7.

About us

ICTA-UAB
The Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) is a multidisciplinary centre that promotes academic research and postgraduate education in the environmental sciences. It aims to improve our understanding of global environmental change, and the nature and causes of environmental problems. In addition, it studies policies, strategies and technologies to foster a transition to a sustainable economy.

The Conference Organization Team
Fulvia Calcagni; Esteve Corbera; Filippos Exadak-tylos; Joël Foramitti; Franziska Klein; Théo Konc; Graham Mortyn; Nick Martin; Aljoša Slameršak; Felipe Parada; Ana Terra Maia

The María de Maeztu Steering Committee
Isabelle Anguelovski; Jordina Belmonte; Jeroen van den Bergh; Xavier Gabarrell; Eric Galbraith; Jordi Garcia; Giorgos Kallis; Joan Martínez Alier; Victoria Reyes; Antoni Rosell; Gara Villalba; Patrizia Ziveri