Large emission reductions in buildings and transport are possible by integrating demand-side strategies to electrify energy use, improve technological efficiency, and reduce or shift patterns of activity. With enabling policies and infrastructures, final energy users can make significant contributions to climate goals, particularly through widespread deployment of heat pumps and electric vehicles.
Messages for policy
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Developing targets and corresponding policies to increase the share of electricity and sustainable fuels in energy-using sectors globally will yield significant emission reductions, especially in the medium term.
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Adopting a mix of policy measures, including both technological solutions and in support of behavioural changes, can alleviate the burden of mitigation on energy supply and infrastructure.
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End-use policies, such as efficiency improvements and promoting electrification, mostly interact synergistically with minimal trade-offs. A coordinated mix of these policies accelerates decarbonization.
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Transformative changes in buildings and transport can significantly reduce emissions. Key actions include electrification, smarter use of space, better insulation, enhanced vehicle efficiency, less driving, more biking, and better public transport.
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Further reading
IPCC in Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change (eds Pörtner, H.-O. et al.) Ch. 5 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2023). This chapter provides an extensive literature overview of demand-side mitigation measures and their estimated impact.
Creutzig, F. et al. Demand-side solutions to climate change mitigation consistent with high levels of well-being. Nat. Clim. Change 12, 36–46 (2022). This article shows that demand-side mitigation options can reduce emissions while simultaneously improving well-being.
Hill, G., Heidrich, O., Creutzig, F. & Blythe, P. The role of electric vehicles in near-term mitigation pathways and achieving the UK’s carbon budget. Appl. Energy 251, 113111 (2019). This article demonstrates that accelerating electric vehicle uptake in passenger transport is important to achieve climate targets after 2030 in the UK.
Padovani, F., Sommerfeldt, N., Longobardi, F. & Pearce, J. M. Decarbonizing rural residential buildings in cold climates: A techno-economic analysis of heating electrification. Energy Build. 250, 111284 (2021). This article demonstrates that sustainable heating electrification is techno-economically viable in rural, residential buildings in cold climates.
Acknowledgements
This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programmes, grant agreement no. 821124 (NAVIGATE, to R.v.H., O.Y.E., V.D., T.L.G., L.B.B., A.D.B., F.P.C., J.E., P.F., R.H., J.H., P.K., F.L., J.L., G.L., G.M., A.M., H.P., R.P., P.R., B.v.R., R.S., C.W., S.Y., E.Z., D.v.V.) and no. 101081604 (PRISMA, to R.v.H., V.D., T.L.G., A.D.B., J.E., P.F., F.L., J.L., G.L., A.M., H.P., R.P., B.v.R., C.W., D.v.V.). The PIK team acknowledges funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under grant agreement no. 03SFK5A-2 (Ariadne; to J.H., R.H., G.L., R.P.). C.W. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council under grant agreement 101003083 (iDODDLE).
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van Heerden, R., Edelenbosch, O.Y., Daioglou, V. et al. Demand-side policies can significantly reduce emissions from energy use in buildings and transport. Nat Energy 10, 293–294 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01721-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01721-z
