EnSu
The Role of Energy Sufficiency
in Energy transition and society
Welcome to the homepage of the BMBF-SÖF Early-Career Research Group ‘The Role of Energy Sufficiency in the Energy Transition and Society’ – known as EnSu for short.
The EnSu research project will come to an end in 2026. However, the website will remain online. Selected content – in particular the sufficiency policy database, publications and other key project findings – will continue to be maintained and updated even after the project has ended.
- Sufficiency Policy Database
- EnSu sufficiency strategy for Germany
- Ressources for modelling
- News articles
- Publications
Sufficiency Policy Database
In our energy sufficiency policy database, we compile and categorise a wide range of sufficiency policies from various sources across all sectors. This resource is aimed at policymakers, public administrators and civil society representatives who plan and implement sufficiency policies, as well as researchers who model climate protection pathways.
EnSu sufficiency strategy for Germany (in German)
The EnSu sufficiency strategy for Germany offers potential solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time:
How can housing be distributed in a way that is socially just and environmentally sustainable?
How can everyone be mobile whilst keeping their carbon footprint small? How can food be both healthy and tasty whilst respecting animal welfare and preserving soil health? How can industry produce sustainably and people consume sustainably in order to meet their material needs without further threatening the climate or biodiversity?
The strategy sets out key challenges, possible visions for the future and specific policy instruments from the perspective of sufficiency. We invite you to engage in a critical discussion of the sufficiency strategy, to improve it, to add further pieces to the jigsaw or to identify any gaps.
Ressources for modelling
On this page, the EnSu research group presents a toolbox for modellers, which is the result of five years of research.
News articles
Here you will find all the news articles relating to the EnSu project.
Publications
Here you will find all the publications produced during the EnSu project.
Recording: EnSu Toolbox for Modellers (online webinar)
In this online webinar, the EnSu research group presents a toolbox for modellers, which is the result of five years of research. You can download the presentation slides as a PDF here. The following data, models and methods are explained in more detail:Indicators and models: Sufficiency indicators Quetzal transport model INHABIT occupancy model Scenarios: Sufficiency-oriented scenarios for Germany CLEVER European sufficiency scenario Databases: Database of potential savings through sufficiency...
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our research interest
How can energy sufficiency be defined and distinguished from other strategies?
What hinders the implementation of sufficiency policies and measures?
What characterizes successful transformation strategies which encompass energy sufficiency?
How can the effects of succiciency be described, evaluated and quantified?
Which multiple effects of energy sufficiency measures can be described (quantitatively and qualitatively)?
How can energy scenarios be developed in inter- and transdisciplinary processes?
The Ensu Team
The junior research group “The role of energy sufficiency in energy transition and society” (EnSu) will systematically include sufficiency strategies in energy system modelling and discuss the current and necessary societal frame conditions for establishing energy sufficiency strategies.
INSTITUTIONS INVOLVED
How can energy consumption decrease in absolute terms?
How can societal change be integrated in energy modelling?
These questions are in the center of the research activities of the junior research group “EnSu – The Role of Energy Sufficiency in Energy Transition and Society” that started in May 2020. The project is funded by the German federal ministry for education and research (BMBF) within the research framework for sustainable development (FONA).
Six junior scientists working at the Öko-Institut (Freiburg), the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy and at the Europa University Flensburg (EUF) aim at studying the transformation processes of society in the context of the Energiewende and making the insights applicable to energy system modelling.