On the World Sufficiency Lab website, Yamina Saheb raises some fundamental points about the European Commission's proposed Affordable Housing Act. The article is making a much larger argument than the Affordable Housing Act itself. Its central idea is that Europe’s legal architecture gives strong protection to markets, capital and property while social needs such as … Continue reading When homes are protected as assets but not as homes
Category: sufficiency
The oil shock is a wake-up call for car-dependent cities
Christopher J. Greyson-Gaito, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McMaster University writes on The Conversation website about using the oil price shock as a wake-up call to build more resilient, less car-dependent cities. Oil price shocks have exposed car‑dependent cities. Here’s what governments can doThe recent Israeli-United States war with Iran sent oil … Continue reading The oil shock is a wake-up call for car-dependent cities
The European Energy Network, EnR, has published catalogue of best practices of behaviour change programmes
Across Europe, the transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral future depends not only on technological innovation and policy ambition, but also on the collective choices and daily actions of millions of citizens, communities, and organisations. Behavioural change—guided by insight, supported by evidence, and enabled by policy—remains at the heart of this transformation. The 2025 edition of … Continue reading The European Energy Network, EnR, has published catalogue of best practices of behaviour change programmes
Criticism that the IPCC prioritises technological solutions and innovation over restraint
In an article on the Le Monde website, Audrey Garric writes about the criticism of the IPCC from the historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz. According to Fressoz, the United Nations prioritises technological and sometimes 'speculative' solutions over restraint and other options, thereby delaying necessary structural changes. IPCC faces criticism for favoring high-tech solutions to global warming … Continue reading Criticism that the IPCC prioritises technological solutions and innovation over restraint
Blog by Yamina Saheb: Who Gets to Define “Limits”? Sufficiency, Power, and the Norwegian Paradox
In the summer of 2025, Norway, which is among the world's wealthiest petrostate hosted a remarkable sequence of sustainability-related events: the EAERE Annual Meeting in Bergen, the SoMaTPhD School in Trondheim, the Sufficiency and Beyond workshop and the ISEE & Degrowth Conference in Oslo. These gatherings, spanning hundreds of papers and thousands of participants, represented a rich … Continue reading Blog by Yamina Saheb: Who Gets to Define “Limits”? Sufficiency, Power, and the Norwegian Paradox
Call for an ‘energy savings first’ principle in Europe
Rather than an ‘energy efficiency first principle’ in Europe, Christoph Schwaiger discusses in an article on the Euractiv website that the French think-tank, négaWatt, is arguing for a new principle would be beneficial, focusing on not just how we use energy, but on how much energy we truly need. This comes closer to the sufficiency … Continue reading Call for an ‘energy savings first’ principle in Europe
Blog by Yamina Saheb – Sufficiency: The Equity Imperative
In political philosophy, sufficiency is an equity-based distributive justice theory that shifts the focus from relative comparisons of wealth and rational choices towards prioritizing well-being, regardless of income. Harry Frankfurt's seminal essay, "Equality as aMoral Ideal," provides a compelling argument for sufficiency. He challenges the conventional focus of justice on outcomes, suggesting focusing on access … Continue reading Blog by Yamina Saheb – Sufficiency: The Equity Imperative
Energy in Demand News, February 9, 2025
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) aims to reduce carbon emissions, put a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon intensive goods imported into the EU, and encourage cleaner industrial production through a methodology for calculating embedded emissions according to the Paris Agreement and the EU Fit for 55 package. … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, February 9, 2025
Blog by Yamina Saheb – Sufficiency: where philosophy meets science
“Sufficiency is a set of policy measures and daily practices which avoid the demand for energy, materials, land, water, and other natural resources while delivering well-being for all within planetary boundaries.” In an era of escalating geopolitical and ecological crises, sufficiency offers a pathway to a more balanced and harmonious existence, enriched by the moral … Continue reading Blog by Yamina Saheb – Sufficiency: where philosophy meets science
Is sufficiency catching on?
Influencers are pushing back against consumerism by encouraging followers to repair or repurpose their stuff. In an article on the Guardian website, Sara Radin questions whether this ‘trend’ is just what many people call normal life? For more on sufficiency, readers are encouraged to visit the Sufficiency Lab or eceee’s Energy Sufficiency website. ‘It … Continue reading Is sufficiency catching on?
