The impact of lifestyle on environmental factors: An empirical analysis of French citizens’ behaviour towards environment

Abstract

Several studies have been developed to show the importance of household carbon emissions and further investigate their sources and driving factors. These studies have paid attention to the impact of household behaviour with regard to energy use and introduced the concept of lifestyle into the study of personal carbon emissions including income, household size, and household structure. Despite the abundance of studies in the literature, it is quite surprising to note the scarcity of studies in France that address the impact of lifestyle on the environment and climate change. We use a nationwide dataset that provides a high-quality nationwide comprehensive survey of French lifestyle and their behaviour towards the environment. The results of this paper highlight the important and significant impact of the lifestyle of French citizens on transport, energy use, consumption, food waste, and clothing. Moreover, they allow assessing the impact of lifestyle on environmental factors in order to manage the harmful effect of climate change on French citizens. Therefore, this study provides decision-makers with extensive valuable information for promoting environmentally sustainable lifestyles and consumption.