The EERA Joint Programme e3s – clean Energy tranSition for Sustainable Society – contributed to the recent ESA Research Network 12 “Environment and Society” Conference, held in Kaunas, Lithuania on 24-25 September 2025. The session, organised by e3s, focused on rethinking Energy Demand Reduction (EDR) through the combined lenses of efficiency, sufficiency, and behavioural change.

Energy demand reduction is increasingly recognised as a cornerstone for achieving Europe’s climate neutrality goals, reinforcing energy security, and enabling sustainable societal transitions. The discussions at the session highlighted that efficiency alone is not sufficient to deliver the scale of change required. While technological innovation remains vital, its impact is often constrained by rebound effects and a predominantly techno-centric approach.

Participants underlined the importance of integrating sufficiency and behavioural change strategies into policy frameworks. These dimensions remain underexplored and often encounter political, economic, and cultural barriers. However, post-growth perspectives and new societal narratives can provide fertile ground for more transformative approaches.

The session featured diverse insights from EERA JP e3s members:

• Guillermo Borragán (VITO–EnergyVille)

• Manfred Paier (Austrian Institute of Technology)

• Stephan Slingerland (TNO Netherlands)

• Alessandro Sciullo (University of Turin)

• Margherita Menon (EERA)

For further reading, the JPS e3s White Paper on Energy Demand Reduction is available.

READ THE WHITE PAPER HERE