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Many countries have some kind of energy-system transformation either planned or ongoing for various reasons, such as to curb carbon emissions or to compensate for the phasing out of nuclear energy. One important component of these transformations is the overall reduction in energy demand. It is generally acknowledged that the domestic sector represents a large share of total energy consumption in many countries. Increased energy efficiency is one factor that reduces energy demand, but behavioral approaches (known as “sufficiency”) and their respective interventions also play important roles. In this paper, we address citizens’ heterogeneity regarding both their current behaviors and their willingness to realize their sufficiency potentials—that is, to reduce their energy consumption through behavioral change. We collaborated with three Swiss cities for this study. A survey conducted in the three cities yielded thematic sets of energy-consumption behavior that various groups of participants rated differently. Using this data, we identified four groups of participants with different patterns of both current behaviors and sufficiency potentials. The paper discusses intervention types and addresses citizens’ heterogeneity and behaviors from a city-based perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present some basic conceptual aspects and empiric examples of urban mitigation and adaptation to climate change, of greening urban development, as there is strong need for further research and education on these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Starting with a review of the 4th IPCC report and the Stern Review, a strategy is developed on how to make cities main actors in fighting climate change. First examples of successful urban greening are presented. Findings – Cities are main drivers of climate change, and they are driven by climate change. Therefore, there is a strong need for "greening" urban development, i.e. for both mitigation and adaptation activities. Practical implications – Mitigation requires the reduction (more or less drastically) of urban energy and material flows. Adaptation requires restructure (more or less radically) of the established urban stocks. Originality/value – Until recently, cities and urban areas have not been in the focus of climate change research and climate policy. The paper shows the need for change of both theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high temporal variability of wind power generation represents a major challenge for the realization of a sustainable energy supply. Large backup and storage facilities are necessary to secure the supply in periods of low renewable generation, especially in countries with a high share of renewables. We show that strong climate change is likely to impede the system integration of intermittent wind energy. To this end, we analyze the temporal characteristics of wind power generation based on high-resolution climate projections for Europe and uncover a robust increase of backup energy and storage needs in most of Central, Northern and North-Western Europe. This effect can be traced back to an increase of the likelihood for long periods of low wind generation and an increase in the seasonal wind variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]