PERSPECTIVE

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y OPEN

Scientists’ warning on affluence

Thomas Wiedmann 1 ✉, Manfred Lenzen 2, Lorenz T. Keyßer 3 &
Julia K. Steinberger 4

For over half a century, worldwide growth in affluence has continuously increased resource
use and pollutant emissions far more rapidly than these have been reduced through better
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technology. The affluent citizens of the world are responsible for most environmental impacts
and are central to any future prospect of retreating to safer environmental conditions. We
summarise the evidence and present possible solution approaches. Any transition towards
sustainability can only be effective if far-reaching lifestyle changes complement technological
advancements. However, existing societies, economies and cultures incite consumption
expansion and the structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies inhibits
necessary societal change.

R
ecent scientists’ warnings confirm alarming trends of environmental degradation from
human activity, leading to profound changes in essential life-sustaining functions of planet
Earth1–3. The warnings surmise that humanity has failed to find lasting solutions to these
changes that pose existential threats to natural systems, economies and societies and call for
action by governments and individuals.
The warnings aptly describe the problems, identify population, economic growth and afflu-
ence as drivers of unsustainable trends and acknowledge that humanity needs to reassess the role
of growth-oriented economies and the pursuit of affluence1,2. However, they fall short of clearly
identifying the underlying forces of overconsumption and of spelling out the measures that are
needed to tackle the overwhelming power of consumption and the economic growth paradigm4.
This perspective synthesises existing knowledge and recommendations from the scientific
community. We provide evidence from the literature that consumption of affluent households
worldwide is by far the strongest determinant and the strongest accelerator of increases of global
environmental and social impacts. We describe the systemic drivers of affluent overconsumption
and synthesise the literature that provides possible solutions by reforming or changing economic
systems. These solution approaches range from reformist to radical ideas, including degrowth,
eco-socialism and eco-anarchism. Based on these insights, we distil recommendations for further
research in the final section.

Affluence as a driver of environmental and social impacts

The link between consumption and impacts. There exists a large body of literature in which the
relationship between environmental, resource and social impacts on one hand, and possible
explanatory variables on the other, is investigated. We review and summarise those studies that
holistically assess the impact of human activities, in the sense that impacts are not restricted to

1 Sustainability Assessment Program, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 2 ISA, School of Physics, The

University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 3 Institute for Environmental Decisions, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich,
Zürich, Switzerland. 4 Sustainability Research Institute (SRI), School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. ✉email: t.wiedmann@unsw.
edu.au

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the home, city, or territory of the individuals, but instead are carried out over the past decades, for example on greenhouse-gas
counted irrespective of where they occur. Such an assessment emissions, energy use, water use, materials or mercury emissions.
perspective is usually referred to as consumption-based These studies routinely decompose global impact trends into
accounting, or footprinting5. effects due to changes in a number of factors, such as technology,
Allocating environmental impacts to consumers is consistent the input structure of production, the product mix in consumer
with the perspective that consumers are the ultimate drivers of demand, the level of per-capita consumption or population21.
production, with their purchasing decisions setting in motion a The majority of studies agree that by far the major drivers of
series of trade transactions and production activities, rippling global impacts are technological change and per-capita consump-
along complex international supply-chain networks5. However, tion11. Whilst the former acts as a more or less strong retardant,
allocating impacts to consumers does not necessarily imply a the latter is a strong accelerator of global environmental impact.
systemic causal understanding of which actor should be held Remarkably, consumption (and to a lesser extent population)
most responsible for these impacts. Responsibility may lie with growth have mostly outrun any beneficial effects of changes in
the consumer or with an external actor, like the state, or in technology over the past few decades. These results hold for the
structural relations between actors. Scholars of sustainable entire world22,23 as well as for numerous individual
consumption have shown that consumers often have little control countries11,24–26. Figure 1 shows the example of changes in
over environmentally damaging decisions along supply chains6, global-material footprint and greenhouse-gas emissions com-
however they often do have control over making a consumption pared to GDP over time. The overwhelming evidence from
decision in the first place. Whilst in Keynesian-type economics decomposition studies is that globally, burgeoning consumption
consumer demand drives production, Marxian political econom- has diminished or cancelled out any gains brought about by
ics as well as environmental sociology views the economy as technological change aimed at reducing environmental impact11.
supply dominated7. In this paper, we highlight the measurement Furthermore, low-income groups are rapidly occupying
of environmental impacts of consumption, while noting that middle- and high-income brackets around the world. This can
multiple actors bear responsibility. potentially further exacerbate the impacts of mobility-related
Holistic studies of the environmental or social consequences of consumption, which has been shown to disproportionately
consumption usually involve the use of life-cycle assessment or increase with income (i.e. the elasticity is larger than one27).
input-output analysis that do not only account for direct (on-site, This means that if consumption is not addressed in future efforts
within-territory) but importantly also include indirect impacts for mitigating environmental impact, technological solutions will
occurring along global and complete supply chains8,9. The use of face an uphill battle, in that they not only have to bring about
such methods is important, because failing to detect the reductions of impact but will also need to counteract the effects of
outsourcing of indirect impacts (also called spill overs or leakage) growing consumption and affluence28,29.
has the potential to seriously undermine global environmental To avoid further deterioration and irreversible damage to
abatement efforts, e.g. on climate change10. natural and societal systems, there will need to be a global and
A significant proportionality between consumption and impact rapid decoupling of detrimental impacts from economic activity.
exists for a large range of environmental, resource and social Whilst a number of countries in the global North have recently
indicators. The implications of consumption on scarce energy managed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions while still growing
resources emerged already in the 1970s and was confirmed by their economies30, it is highly unlikely that such decoupling will
many consumption-based analyses on indicators as varied as CO2 occur more widely in the near future, rapidly enough at global
emissions, raw materials, air pollution, biodiversity, nitrogen scale and for other environmental impacts11,17. This is because
emissions, scarce water use or energy5,11. Many of these studies renewable energy, electrification, carbon-capturing technologies
employed multiple regression or similar techniques, yielding clear
evidence for our first finding: that consumption is by far the 2.3
strongest determinant of global impacts, dwarfing other socio-
economic–demographic factors such as age, household size, 2.1
qualification or dwelling structure12–15. Whilst the strength of the
1.9
proportionality between consumption and impact decreases
slightly towards higher incomes (measured by so-called elasti- 1.7
cities), consumption was found to be a consistently positive
1.5
driver. In other words, the impact intensity of consumption
decreases, but absolute impacts increase towards higher con- 1.3
sumption. Absolute decoupling, let alone an inverted-U-type
Kuznets relationship, does not occur from a consumption-based 1.1
accounting perspective11,16,17. 0.9
For some social indicators, causal associations between
consumption and impact are weak or non-existent. For example, 0.7
withdrawing consumption from countries with unequal wages, 0.5
child labour, corruption or severe occupational hazards may not 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
influence those conditions, and might even exacerbate social (=1)
problems. Footprint studies on these indicators nevertheless Global GDP Global MF Global CO2 FFI
characterise consumers of commodities from socially problematic
origins as being implicated with detrimental impacts9,18–20. Fig. 1 Relative change in main global economic and environmental
indicators from 1970 to 2017. Shown is how the global material footprint
(MF, equal to global raw material extraction) and global CO2 emissions
Trends. Many indicators of global environmental and social from fossil-fuel combustion and industrial processes (CO2 FFI) changed
impacts have been monitored over time, and time series data compared with global GDP (constant 2010 USD). Indexed to 1 in 1990. Data
exist5. Numerous global studies decomposing time series of sources: https://www.resourcepanel.org/global-material-flows-database,
footprints of consumption into drivers of trends have been http://www.globalcarbonatlas.org and https://data.worldbank.org.

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NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y PERSPECTIVE

and even services all have resource requirements, mostly in the globally and on the intra-nationally most wealthy and affluent
form of metals, concrete and land31. Rising energy demand and segments (hereafter called super-affluent).
costs of resource extraction, technical limitations and rebound
effects aggravate the problem28,32,33. It has therefore been argued
Reducing overconsumption. Since the level of consumption
that “policy makers have to acknowledge the fact that addressing
determines total impacts, affluence needs to be addressed by
environmental breakdown may require a direct downscaling of
reducing consumption, not just greening it17,28,29. It is clear that
economic production and consumption in the wealthiest
prevailing capitalist, growth-driven economic systems have not
countries”17,p.5. We will address this argument in the section
only increased affluence since World War II, but have led to
on systemic drivers and possible solutions.
enormous increases in inequality, financial instability, resource
consumption and environmental pressures on vital earth support
International disparities. In what follows, we will explain why systems42. A suitable concept to address the ecological dimension
we characterise consumption as affluence. Inequality is com- is the widely established avoid-shift-improve framework outlined
monly described by the Gini index, with 0 characterising total by Creutzig et al.43. Its focus on the end-use service, such as
equality (all individuals equal) and 100 representing total mobility, nutrition or shelter, allows for a multi-dimensional
inequality (one individual owning everything). World countries’ analysis of potential impact reductions beyond sole technological
Gini indices of income inequality range between 25 (Scandinavia) change. This analysis can be directed at human need satisfaction
and 63 (Southern Africa)34. The world’s Gini index of income or decent living standards—an alternative perspective put for-
inequality is around 75, higher than the corresponding index of ward for curbing environmental crises44,45. Crucially, this per-
any national population. Simply put, the world as a whole is more spective allows us to consider different provisioning systems (e.g.
unequal than any individual country. states, markets, communities and households) and to differentiate
Since income is strongly linked with consumption, and between superfluous consumption, which is consumption that
consumption is in turn linked with impact (see previous section), does not contribute to needs satisfaction, and necessary con-
we can expect existing income inequalities to translate into sumption which can be related to satisfying human needs. It
equally significant impact inequalities. Indeed, environmental, remains important to acknowledge the complexities surrounding
resource and social impacts are exerted unequally across the this distinction, as touched upon in the sections on growth
world population. Teixido-Figueras et al.35 report that interna- imperatives below. Still, empirically, human needs satisfaction
tional Gini coefficients for CO2 emissions, material consumption shows rapidly diminishing returns with overall consumption45,46.
and net primary productivity (both measured from a production As implied by the previous section on affluence as a driver, the
and consumption perspective) range between 35 and 60. These strongest pillar of the necessary transformation is to avoid or to
values mean that the world’s top 10% of income earners are reduce consumption until the remaining consumption level falls
responsible for between 25 and 43% of environmental impact. In within planetary boundaries, while fulfilling human needs17,28,46.
contrast, the world’s bottom 10% income earners exert only Avoiding consumption means not consuming certain goods and
around 3–5% of environmental impact35. These findings mean services, from living space (overly large homes, secondary
that environmental impact is to a large extent caused and driven residences of the wealthy) to oversized vehicles, environmentally
by the world’s rich citizens36. Considering that the lifestyles of damaging and wasteful food, leisure patterns and work patterns
wealthy citizens are characterised by an abundance of choice, involving driving and flying47. This implies reducing expenditure
convenience and comfort, we argue that the determinant and and wealth along ‘sustainable consumption corridors’, i.e.
driver we have referred to in previous sections as consumption, is minimum and maximum consumption standards48,49 (Fig. 2).
more aptly labelled as affluence. On the technological side, reducing the need for consumption can
Teixido-Figueras et al.35 also find that carbon emissions and be facilitated by changes such as increasing lifespans of goods,
material use are globally more unequally distributed when telecommunication instead of physical travel, sharing and
accounted for as footprints. In contrast to territorial allocations, repairing instead of buying new, and house retrofitting43.
footprints attribute environmental burdens to the final consumer,
no matter where the initial environmental pressure has occurred.
ironmenta
: env
Here, international trade is responsible for shifting burdens from
mostly low-income developing-world producers to high-income on lly
developed-world consumers37. This phenomenon of outsourcing pti nviro
nmental ceilin
E g
un
m

su

appears to exacerbate global disparities, at least in carbon nable lifestyl

su

stai es
sta

Su
con

emissions and material use contexts. al founda

ci tion
So
inab
Over

Systemic drivers and possible solutions

le

Poverty
As the previous section shows, there is a positive relationship and need:
socially
between biophysical resource use and affluence, as defined by unsustainable
income. Adding to this, the most affluent groups have higher
ity

incomes than expenditure, and their saving and investing leads to

an

he
T

substantial additional environmental impact38. Therefore, and sa

fe rh
u
a nd j fo
due to significant inter- and intra-national wealth and income ust s p ace
inequality36,39, we differentiate between globally affluent groups,
such as the European Union, and the most wealthy and affluent
groups within countries, e.g. the <1–10% richest income seg-
ments36. As quantitative research36,40,41 shows, highly affluent
consumers drive biophysical resource use (a) directly through Fig. 2 The safe and just space for humanity. Sustainable lifestyles are
high consumption, (b) as members of powerful factions of the situated between an upper limit of permissible use (“Environmental
capitalist class and (c) through driving consumption norms ceiling”) and a lower limit of necessary use of environmental resources
across the population. The next sections focus on affluent groups (“Social foundation”) (figures from ref. 49 and ref. 84 combined and adapted).

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However, the other two pillars of shift and improve are still labour markets to sell their labour power to capitalists in order to
vital to achieve the socio-ecological transformation46. Consump- earn a living.
tion patterns still need to be shifted away from resource and Even though some small- and medium-sized businesses
carbon-intensive goods and services, e.g. mobility from cars and manage to refrain from pursuing growth, e.g. due to a low
airplanes to public buses and trains, biking or walking, heating competition intensity in niche markets, or lack of financial debt
from oil heating to heat pumps, nutrition—where possible—from imperatives, this cannot be said for most firms64. In capitalism,
animal to seasonal plant-based products43,46. In some cases this firms need to compete in the market, leading to a necessity to
includes a shift from high- to low-tech (with many low-tech reinvest profits into more efficient production processes to
alternatives being less energy intense than high-tech equivalents, minimise costs (e.g. through replacing human labour power with
e.g. clothes line vs. dryer) and from global to local47. In parallel, machines and positive returns to scale), innovation of new
also the resource and carbon intensity of consumption needs to products and/or advertising to convince consumers to buy
be decreased, e.g. by expanding renewable energy, electrifying more7,61,62. As a result, the average energy intensity of labour is
cars and public transport and increasing energy and material now twice as high as in 195060. As long as a firm has a
efficiency43,46. competitive advantage, there is a strong incentive to sell as much
The avoid-shift-improve framework, coherently applied with a as possible. Financial markets are crucial to enable this constant
dominant avoid and strong shift, implies the adoption of less expansion by providing (interest-bearing) capital and channelling
affluent, simpler and sufficiency-oriented lifestyles to address it where it is most profitable58,61,63. If a firm fails to stay
overconsumption—consuming better but less46,47,49,50. This also competitive, it either goes bankrupt or is taken over by a more
includes addressing socially unsustainable underconsumption in successful business. Under normal economic conditions, this
impoverished communities in both less affluent and affluent capitalist competition is expected to lead to aggregate growth
countries, where enough and better is needed to achieve a more dynamics7,62,63,65.
equal distribution of wealth and guarantee a minimum level of However, two factors exist that further strengthen this growth
prosperity to overcome poverty48,49. Thus, establishing a floor- dynamic60. Firstly, if labour productivity continuously rises, then
and-ceiling strategy of sustainable consumption corridors is aggregate economic growth becomes necessary to keep employ-
necessary48,49 (Fig. 2). ment constant, otherwise technological unemployment results.
It is well established that at least in the affluent countries a This creates one of the imperatives for capitalist states to foster
persistent, deep and widespread reduction of consumption and aggregate growth, since with worsening economic conditions and
production would reduce economic growth as measured by gross high unemployment, tax revenues shrink, e.g. from labour and
domestic product (GDP)51,52. Estimates of the needed reduction value-added taxes, while social security expenditures rise60,62.
of resource and energy use in affluent countries, resulting in a Adding to this, states compete with other states geopolitically and
concomitant decrease in GDP of similar magnitude, range from in providing favourable conditions for capital, while capitalists
40 to 90%53,54. Bottom-up studies, such as from Rao et al.55 show have the resources to influence political decisions in their favour.
that decent living standards could be maintained in India, Brazil If economic conditions are expected to deteriorate, e.g. due to
and South Africa with around 90% less per-capita energy use than unplanned recession or progressive political change, firms can
currently consumed in affluent countries. Trainer56, for Australia, threaten capital flight, financial markets react and investor as well
and Lockyer57, for the USA, find similar possible reductions. In as consumer confidence shrink51,58,60. Secondly, consumers
current capitalist economies such reduction pathways would usually increase their consumption in tune with increasing
imply widespread economic recession with a cascade of currently production60. This process can be at least in part explained by
socially detrimental effects, such as a collapse of the stock market, substantial advertising efforts by firms47,52,66. However, further
unemployment, firm bankruptcies and lack of credit50,58. The mechanisms are at play as explained further below.
question then becomes how such a reduction in consumption and Following this analysis, it is not surprising that the growth
production can be made socially sustainable, safeguarding human paradigm is hegemonic, i.e. the perception that economic growth
needs and social function50,59 However, to address this question, solves all kinds of societal problems, that it equals progress, power
we first need to understand the various growth imperatives of and welfare and that it can be made practically endless through
capitalist social and economic systems and the role of the super- some form of supposedly green or sustainable growth59. Taken
affluent segments of society60. together, the described dynamics create multiple dependencies of
workers, firms and states on a well-functioning capital accumula-
tion and thus wield more material, institutional and discursive
Super-affluent consumers and growth imperatives. Growth power (e.g. for political lobbying) to capitalists who are usually
imperatives are active at multiple levels, making the pursuit of the most affluent consumers61,67. Even if different fractions of the
economic growth (net investment, i.e. investment above depre- capitalist class have manifold and competing interests which need
ciation) a necessity for different actors and leading to social and to be constantly renegotiated, there is a common interest in
economic instability in the absence of it7,52,60. Following a maintaining the capitalist system and favourable conditions for
Marxian perspective as put forward by Pirgmaier and Steinber- capital accumulation, e.g. through aggregate growth and high
ger61, growth imperatives can be attributed to capitalism as the consumption51,62. How this political corruption by the super-
currently dominant socio-economic system in affluent affluent plays out in practice is well documented, e.g. for the meat
countries7,51,62, although this is debated by other scholars52. To industry in Denmark6.
structure this topic, we will discuss different affected actors
separately, namely corporations, states and individuals, following
Richters and Siemoneit60. Most importantly, we address the role Super-affluent consumers drive consumption norms. Growth
of the super-affluent consumers within a society, which overlap imperatives and drivers (with the latter describing less coercive
with powerful fractions of the capitalist class. From a Marxian mechanisms to increase consumption) can also be active at the
perspective, this social class is structurally defined by its position individual level. In this case, the level of consumption can serve as
in the capitalist production process, as financially tied with the a proxy47,60,68. To start with, individual consumption decisions
function of capital63. In capitalism, workers are separated from are not made in a vacuum, but are shaped by surrounding
the means of production, implying that they must compete in (physical and social) structures and provisioning systems47,61,69.

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Sanne66 and Alexander47 discuss several structural barriers to categorisation by Alexander and Rutherford77. All these approa-
sufficiency-oriented lifestyles, locking in high consumption. ches differ from the established green growth (ecomodernism)
These include lack of suitable housing, insufficient options for approach28,78,79, in that they at least adopt an agnostic, if not
socialising, employment, transport and information, as well as negative, position on the question whether or not GDP can be
high exposure to consumer temptations. Often, these conditions sufficiently decoupled from environmental impacts28,52,78,80.
are deliberately fostered by states and also capitalists (the latter Hence, these approaches also differ from the Sustainable Devel-
overlapping with super-affluent consumers and having dis- opment Goals (SDGs), since SDG 8 aims for continued global
proportionate influence on states) to increase consumption61,66. GDP growth of ~3% p.a., likely contradicting several other SDGs,
Further active mechanisms to spur growth include positional e.g. SDG 12 and 1381–83. Further, the SDGs are not representing a
and efficiency consumption, which contribute to an increase in theoretically coherent framework, since they are part of a delib-
consumption overall52,60,68,70. After basic material needs are erative process45, and sideline underlying power dynamics as well
satisfied, an increasing proportion of consumption is directed at as interactions between injustices83. Nevertheless, approaches
positional goods52,70. The defining feature of these goods is that underpinned by multi-dimensional social wellbeing and environ-
they are expensive and signify social status. Access to them mental goals, such as Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics84, are
depends on the income relative to others. Status matters, since strong alternatives to GDP-focused ones and may inspire trans-
empirical studies show that currently relative income is one of the formative change in the context of the more reformist solution
strongest determinants of individual happiness52. In the aggregate approaches outlined below. Importantly, the following discussion
however, the pursuit of positional consumption, driven by super- can only provide a rough overview of the respective approaches.
affluent consumers and high inequalities, likely resembles a zero- The reformist group consists of heterogeneous approaches
sum game with respect to societal wellbeing70,71. With every actor such as a-growth80, precautionary/pragmatic post-growth52,
striving to increase their position relative to their peers, the prosperity42 and managing85 without growth as well as steady-
average consumption level rises and thus even more expensive state economics86. These approaches have in common that they
positional goods become necessary, while the societal wellbeing aim to achieve the required socio-ecological transformation
level stagnates42,71. This is supported by a large body of empirical through and within today’s dominant institutions, such as
research, showing that an individual’s happiness correlates centralised democratic states and market economies52,77. From
positively with their own income but negatively with the peer this position it often follows that current, socially vital
group’s income71 and that unequal access to positional goods institutions, such as the welfare state, labour markets, healthcare,
fosters rising consumption52. This endless process is a core part pensions and others, need to be reformed to become independent
of capitalism as it keeps social momentum and consumption high from GDP growth52. Generally, bottom-up movements are seen
with affluent consumers driving aspirations and hopes of social as crucial, leading to value and cultural changes towards
ascent in low-affluence segments70,72. The positional consump- sufficiency42,47. Eventually, however, significant policy changes
tion behaviour of the super-affluent thus drives consumption are proposed to achieve the necessary downshifting of consump-
norms across the population, for instance through their excessive tion and production42,77,86 and/or the reduction of environ-
air travel, as documented by Gössling73. mental impacts through decoupling52,80. These include, among
Lastly, in capitalism, workers must compete against each other others, stringent eco-taxes or cap-and trade systems, directed
in the labour market in order to earn a living from capitalists7,63. investments in green industries and public institutions, wealth
Following Siemoneit68, this can lead to a similar imperative to net redistribution through taxation and a maximum income, a
invest (increase the level of consumption/investment) as is guaranteed basic income and/or reduced working hours42,77.
observed with capitalists. In order to stay competitive, individuals Although these policies already seem radical when compared to
are pushed to increase time and cost efficiency by investing in today’s policies, the proponents of reformist approaches are
cars, kitchen appliances, computers and smartphones, by using convinced that the transformation can be achieved in current
social media and online trade etc. This efficiency consumption— capitalist economies and democratic states42,77,86.
effectively another facet of the rebound effect38,47,68—helps to The second, more radical, group disagrees and argues that the
manage high workloads, thus securing an income, while needed socio-ecological transformation will necessarily entail a
maintaining private life. This is often accompanied by trends of shift beyond capitalism and/or current centralised states.
commodification61, understood as the marketisation of products Although comprising considerable heterogeneity77, it can be
and services which used to be provisioned through more time- divided into eco-socialist approaches, viewing the democratic
intensive commons or reciprocal social arrangements, e.g. state as an important means to achieve the socio-ecological
convenience food vs. cooking together. As in the food example74, transformation51,65 and eco-anarchist approaches, aiming instead
this replacement of human labour with energy- and material- at participatory democracy without a state, thus minimising
intensive industrial production typically increases environmental hierarchies54,87. Many degrowth approaches combine elements of
pressures47,75. Through these economic pressures, positive feed- the two, but often see a stronger role for state action than eco-
back loops and lock-ins are expected to emerge, since other anarchists50,51,88. Degrowth is defined here as “an equitable
consumers need to keep up with these investments or face downscaling of throughput [that is the energy and resource flows
disadvantages, e.g. when car or smartphone ownership become through an economy, strongly coupled to GDP], with a
presupposed. Taken together with positional consumption, concomitant securing of wellbeing“59,p7, aimed at a subsequent
structural barriers to sufficiency and the substantial advertising downscaled steady-state economic system that is socially just and
efforts by capitalists, these mechanisms explain to a large extent in balance with ecological limits. Importantly, degrowth does not
why consumers seem so willing to increase their consumption in aim for a reduction of GDP per se, but rather accepts it as a likely
accordance with increasing production60. outcome of the necessary changes78. Moreover, eco-feminist
approaches highlight the role of patriarchal social relations and
the parallels between the oppression of women and exploitation
Solution approaches. In response to the aforementioned drivers of nature89, while post-development approaches stress the
of affluence, diverse solution approaches and strategies are being manifold and heterogeneous visions of achieving such a socio-
discussed47,52,76. We differentiate these as belonging to a more ecological transformation globally, especially in the global
reformist and a more radical group (Table 1). This is based on the South90.

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6
Table 1 Meta approaches for sustainable prosperity.

Radical approaches Reformist approaches Green growth approach

Sub-group Eco-socialism Eco-anarchism A-growth, precautionary/ Sustainable growth, ecological
(incl. degrowth) pragmatic post-growth, steady- modernisation, decoupling
state economy, prosperity and
managing without growth

Key references 47,50,51,59,65 54,87 42,52,80,85,86 28,78,79

PERSPECTIVE

Key premise/principle/ • Decoupling is most likely not • Decoupling is most likely not • Group 1: infinite growth on a • Economic growth can be
hypothesis/assumptions possible possible finite planet (decoupling) is most decoupled from environmental
• Necessary changes are most • Necessary changes are most likely not possible (Daly, Victor impacts and is necessary to
likely not compatible with likely not compatible with or Jackson) provide sustainable technical
capitalism capitalism • Group 2: agnostic to growth; solutions.
• The democratic state is expected • The state is not expected to decoupling could still be possible; • Necessary changes are
to play a significant role in the play a significant role in the uncertainty (van den Bergh, compatible with centralised
transition and beyond, although transition. Instead, grassroots Petschow et al.) states and capitalism
grassroots movements are still participatory-democratic • Necessary changes are
important movements are central in the compatible with centralised
transition and beyond states and capitalism
Goals/aspirations Decouple wellbeing from GDP Decouple wellbeing from GDP Decouple wellbeing from GDP Maintain high economic growth
growth, shrink impacts and expect growth, shrink impacts and growth, shrink impacts despite and decrease impacts
GDP shrinkage, increase social expect GDP shrinkage, increase possible/likely GDP decrease (decoupling)
control over economy using social control over economy
the state without using the state
Mechanisms Focus on resource limits, system Focus on resource limits, system Focus on resource limits, reforms Focus on resource efficiency,
change and wellbeing change and wellbeing and wellbeing renewable energy and
decoupling
Institutions/actors Governments, civil society and Civil society and grassroots Governments, civil society and Governments, financial
grassroots initiatives, voters, initiatives, scientists grassroots initiatives, voters, institutions, voters, scientists,
scientists scientists
Actions Include strong limits and social Change lifestyles, cultures and Include strong limits and social Adapt policies to include
justice in policies; Change consciousness through justice in policies; reform important increases in efficiencies
economic structures, reform grassroots action; Build social institutions; change lifestyles
institutions and increase social alternative localised and cultures through
control over economic actions; participatory-democratic grassroots action
change lifestyles, consciousness economic system besides old
and cultures through one and remove barriers
grassroots action through cooperating with
governments
Achievements/examples Individual downshifting, transition Individual downshifting, Individual downshifting, transition OECD and EU policies
/implementations Initiatives, eco-villages, policy transition initiatives, eco- initiatives, eco-villages, policy
reforms e.g. the 2019 Wellbeing villages, Catalan Integral reforms, e.g. the 2019 Wellbeing
Budget in New Zealand as a very Cooperative, Rojava, Zapatistas Budget in New Zealand as a
first step first step
Barriers Lack of awareness among the Lack of awareness among the Lack of awareness among the Priority still on economic growth
public of limits to growth and public of limits to growth and public of limits to growth and
alternatives; lack of research on alternatives; lack of research on alternatives; lack of research on
these alternatives; changes could these alternatives; changes these alternatives; potential that
be too radical to be implemented; could be too radical to be problems cannot be solved within
growth imperatives of states could implemented; barriers to capitalism and centralised states
be too much a barrier grassroots action could be
too high
Alignment with dominant Low Low Low (Group 1) to medium High
interests, systems and (Group 2)
cultures

This table only provides a rough overview, focusing on the most obvious differences of the respective approaches. There are overlaps between them and considerable heterogeneity within each approach, e.g. eco-feminism and post-development overlap with eco-socialism and

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eco-anarchism.
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Degrowth advocates propose similar policy changes as the What is needed are convincing and viable solutions at the
reformist group50,80. However, it is stressed that implementing systems level that can be followed. We call for the scientific
these changes would most likely imply a shift beyond capitalism, community across all disciplines to identify and support solutions
e.g. preventing capital accumulation through dis-economies of with multidisciplinary research, for the public to engage in broad
scale and collective firm ownership, and thus require radical discussions about solutions and for policy makers to implement
social change59,62,91. Eco-socialists usually focus more on and enable solutions in policy processes. Based on the literature
rationing, planning of investments and employment, price reviewed above we identify the following areas in need of further
controls and public ownership of at least the most central means research. This list is not exhaustive or even fully conclusive, but
of production to plan their downscaling in a socially sustainable rather meant to be the start of a continuous debate to frame
way65,77. future agendas of research and actions that need to be discussed
Both groups agree on the crucial role of bottom-up movements and criticised.
to change culture and values, push for the implementation of
these top-down changes and establish parts of the new economy
within the old47,50. Finally, eco-anarchists do not view the state as Research to advance basic academic understanding. Can
a central means to achieve the socio-ecological transformation. inspiring visions for a sustainable life in prosperity, but within
Instead, they stress the role of bottom-up grassroots initiatives, planetary limits and with less material affluence be formulated
such as transition initiatives and eco-villages, in prefiguring the and demonstrated? How can fundamental changes in lifestyles of
transformation as well as cultural and value changes as a the affluent part of the human population be motivated and
necessary precondition for wider radical change. With these sustained?
initiatives scaling up, the state might get used to remove barriers The interface between materially downshifted lifestyles and the
and to support establishing a participatory-democratic and social environment (institutions, values, norms and governance)
localised post-capitalist economy54,77. needs special attention. Which circumstances will allow for and
In summary, there seems to be some strategic overlap between support widespread shifts in lifestyles? What are the institutional,
reformist and the more radical eco-anarchist and eco-socialist cultural and individual barriers to adopting lifestyle changes and
approaches, at least in the short term77. The question remains how can they be overcome? What is the role of social groups,
how these solution approaches help in overcoming the capitalist organisations and bottom-up movements? Can we learn from
dynamics previously outlined, since here bottom-up and govern- societies, e.g. indigenous and pre-industrial societies, which
mental action seem to be limited. It is important to recognise the managed to live without economic growth?
pivotal role of social movements in this process, which can bring So far, steady-state, degrowth or a-growth concepts have not
forward social tipping points through complex, unpredictable and practically been implemented on larger scales. Research on the
reinforcing feedbacks92,93 and create windows of opportunity environmental and social sustainability of these propositions is
from crises77,94. necessary (see e.g. ref. 78). Can a transition to reduced and
changed consumption be achieved while at the same time keeping
economic and social stability? What are the implications on work,
New research directions employment and population growth? How can social security be
The evidence is clear. Long-term and concurrent human and maintained and equality be increased? What are the consequences
planetary wellbeing will not be achieved in the Anthropocene if for trade and for the global South in particular?
affluent overconsumption continues, spurred by economic sys- The scientific community should develop scenarios and
tems that exploit nature and humans. We find that, to a large possible pathways of strong sustainable consumption and
extent, the affluent lifestyles of the world’s rich determine and production with upper and lower limits as suggested by the
drive global environmental and social impact. Moreover, inter- floor-and-ceiling framework, or sustainable consumption
national trade mechanisms allow the rich world to displace its corridors48,49,91,98. These need to feature reduced physical
impact to the global poor. Not only can a sufficient decoupling of throughput (possibly resulting in reduced GDP) and recomposing
environmental and detrimental social impacts from economic consumption99 with a simultaneous social reorientation of
growth not be achieved by technological innovation alone, but people, institutions and governments. Suitable indicators and
also the profit-driven mechanism of prevailing economic systems scenarios based on interdisciplinary research need to be
prevents the necessary reduction of impacts and resource utili- implemented to monitor progress100.
sation per se.
In this context, the digital revolution—and more broadly the
Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) with converging, step-change Research on societal changes for citizens and communities.
innovations in digital technology, artificial intelligence, Internet One first and immediate action anyone can take is to talk about
of Things, 3D-printing, biotechnology and nanotechnology—has overconsumption, i.e. current levels of consumption by most
been touted as an enabler of absolute decoupling through sheer people in the global North, and how it is unsustainable and
exponential efficiency gains95. While digitalisation is already a key unethical or unjust. A wide debate in society, research and policy
driving force in societal transformation, it has so far led to more is necessary. Many people do not see themselves being part of
consumption and inequality and remained coupled with the either the problem or the solution, but look for governments,
indirect use of energy and materials, therefore sustaining technology and/or businesses to solve the problem. The necessary
resource-intensive and greenhouse-gas growth patterns at the alternative futures need to be discussed, envisioned and shared. It
macro-economic level17,96. While the digital revolution is important to create a sense of collective responsibility and
undoubtedly increases labour productivity—demonstrated by action. Social sciences research and approaches can help by
individual leading businesses showing a strong productivity creating, providing and sharing concepts, experiences and plat-
paradox—it remains to be seen whether the same is true for forms where public debates and dialogues take place. People who
resource productivity, and this will depend on governance and have already downshifted should be enabled to share their
regulation. Even if the FIR were to achieve absolute decoupling, motivations and experiences to break through stigma and isola-
this would come at a potentially high risk for privacy, liberty, data tion, as would activists building a larger popular movement on
sovereignty, civic rights, security, equality and democracy96,97. climate action.

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—Insights from 45 Global Thought Leaders (eds Costanza, R. & Kubiszewski I.) Peer review information Nature Communications thanks Zhifu Mi and Will Steffen for
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10 NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | (2020)11:3107 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y | www.nature.com/naturecommunications