Sufficiency Summit

The Sufficiency Summit is an initiative launched in response to the IPCC call for immediate climate action to keep the 1.5°C target alive. The Summit gathers scientists, policymakers, practitioners, industry, and civil society to work together on mainstreaming the concept of "sufficiency".

The 2022 IPCC report on climate mitigation defines sufficiency as "a set of policy measures and daily practices that avoid the demand for energy, materials, land, water, and other natural resources while providing wellbeing for all within the planetary boundaries”. By 2050, sufficiency has the potential to reduce emissions, compared to current policy scenarios, by more than 50% in almost all sectors. Yet, sufficiency is overlooked in climate policies and scenarios aiming at a 1.5°C temperature target by the end of the century.

The Summit featured three sessions on ‘Human and Urban Settlements’, ‘Nutrition’ and ‘Clothing’ as well as a high level policy debate. The Summit was opened with a speech from Dr Yamina Saheb, from Sciences Po, and closed by Prof David Ness, from the University of South Australia, the two main initiators of this event. The European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition was a co-host of the conference, and our Chairholder, Prof Marc Ringel, acted as moderator for the Paris room.

The video recordings for the opening, three sessions and closing of the event can be found in this link.

The Sufficiency Summit was possible thanks to the efforts and collaboration shared by academics in both institutions and to a wide range of experts in the field of sufficiency that took part in this event. The support of Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation (AFRAN) is also gratefully acknowledged.