Introduction

The overall goal of GILDED was to identify social, economic, cultural and political changes which could help rural and urban households in Europe consume less energy.  GILDED was a three year collaborative research project funded through European Union Framework Programme Seven, running from December 2008- April 2012.

Rationale

The focus of the project was on household consumption. In Europe, about 35% of all primary energy use and 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from private households. While technological innovations can reduce the energy requirement for specific activities, people still have to choose to consume less. Otherwise, increases in energy efficiency may simply raise demand for energy-intensive products and services. (See publications.)

Institutions Involved

1. The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland
2. The University of Groningen (the Netherlands)
3. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany),
4. Centre for Social Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Institute of Sociology) (Hungary)
5. The University of South Bohemia (Czech Republic)

Contact

For further information on the GILDED project contact the project manager Lee-Ann Sutherland.

Funded by

The European Commission 7th Framework Programme.