Welfare within planetary limits: deep transformation requires holistic approaches

In January 2023, Anders Rhiger Hansen visited Lund University to talk to Max Koch about sustainable welfare, human needs, social inequality and a little bit about Bourdieu. The message from Max was clear: politicians need to drop the idea of green growth and instead define a safe and just operating space to determine what can be done within this space. His sociological approach combines Marxian and Bourdieusean traditions, and he recommends that the Consumption and Society community investigates consumption in combination with processes of production, for example by engaging with critical political economy approaches such as the French regulation school or the Frankfurt School. According to Koch, the survival of the planet requires holistic approaches that would transform society and its exchanges with nature, based on principles of degrowth and on a scale that we have not yet seen

Bæredygtigt forbrug: Definition, historiske positioner og fremtidige studier

Begrænsning af global opvarmning, miljømæssig ødelæggelse og tab af biodiversitet er samlet set den største samfundsopgave, og følgerne heraf udgør vor generationers største samfundsmæssige problemer. Begge dele kræver empiriske bidrag. Jeg tror, at empiriske analyser og indsigter bliver afgørende for en succesfuld bæredygtig omstilling af vores samfund. For eksempel i forhold til at klarlægge konsekvenserne for hverdagspraksisser, forstå udfordringer med (nye) teknologier og politiske initiativer, samt til at udvikle bæredygtige løsninger der får alle samfundsgrupper med. I denne artikel fokuserer jeg på bæredygtigt forbrug. Selvom begrebet kan forekomme uklart og med mange medbetydninger, så kan der være en fordel i at holde fast i begrebet, som overordnet betegnelse for undersøgelse af hvordan forbrug harmonerer med naturens ressourcer og begrænsninger. Mit forslag til definition er forbrug der minimerer den negative påvirkning på miljø og klima uden at kompromittere basale menneskelige behov. Udover at uddybe definitionen, så beskriver jeg tre centrale distinktioner, som afspejler forskelle i fokus og prioritering: 1) forbrug anderledes overfor forbrug mindre, 2) anskaffelse (køb) overfor anvendelse (brug), og 3) individuel adfærd overfor kollektive praksisser. Til sidst foreslår jeg problemstillinger, hvor jeg mener der mangler viden og evidens i forhold til danske forhold

Danish PV prosumers' time-shifting of energy-consuming everyday practices

Consumer engagement in the energy system is necessary to ensure a low-carbon transition. However, this has proved difficult because consumers are engaged in pursuing everyday practices rather than focusing on abstract questions of energy. Recent studies have suggested that being a prosumer can make a difference. This paper builds on survey data from a representative sample of 2505 photovoltaic (PV) owners in Denmark combined with 12 qualitative in-depth interviews. The results indicate that PV owners consider that they have become more concerned about energy consumption and adjust the timing of their everyday practices to their production. Thus, 67% of the households ‘often’ or ‘always’ time-shift the use of washing machines to their production. The extent to which households time-shift is strongly related to their net-metering scheme. Thus, 75% of the households on hourly metering stated that they ‘to some’ or to ‘a great extent’ adjust their consumption, compared to only 26% of the households on annual metering. This financial effect is interpreted in an everyday life context where financial gain transfers meanings of self-sufficiency and sustainability, rather than primarily being viewed as rational economic behaviour. The conclusion discusses the policy implications of methods to engage the consumer