Sufficiency Potential Database

Reducing energy demand through demand-side options, such as sufficiency, gained attention with the last IPCC report. Despite this recognition, sufficiency in particular is under-represented in models, future scenarios and policy recommendations, partly due to difficulties in data availability.

We fill this gap by providing an open-access database with quantified energy savings and GHG reduction potentials of sufficiency policies and measures for all production and consumption sectors in Germany. The database has a comprehensive structure including relevant metadata for each entry.

The database is based on a systematic literature review with the term "energy sufficiency" as well as combinations of paraphrasing words. We supplemented the results with papers known to the authors and provided by several sufficiency expert communities. This led to 303 saving potentials from 47 literature sources included in the database. Savings are based on scenarios, modelling, estimates or evaluations and are therefore both theoretical and realised.