Abstract Human economic activities and following carbon emissions have been recognized to be a real threat to the environment. The current levels of consumption-based carbon footprints in all developed economies grossly exceed the sustainable level. Scientists have concluded that in addition to technological solutions, downscaling of consumption and far-reaching changes in lifestyles will be needed to achieve environmental sustainability. In this study, we provide a tangible real-world example that reveals the scale of the needed change from a perspective of a European welfare state citizen. Universal basic income (UBI) represents an income that is just enough to fulfil basic needs, such as food, shelter, and medication. In our case country, Finland, UBI is in practice at the same level as the income of the lowest income decile. The purpose of this study is to present and analyse the carbon footprints at a consumption level that corresponds to UBI. We compare the carbon footprints at this low-income level to average Finnish carbon footprints and discuss their sustainability in the light of global carbon budgets. We use an input-output approach based on the Finnish ENVIMAT model. The average carbon footprint at the UBI level is 4.8 tCO2-eq and it focuses on necessities. It’s significantly lower than the average carbon footprint in Finland, 9.4 tCO2-eq, but still far from the level compatible with the current climate change mitigation targets. The results emphasize how challenging it is to find true low-carbon solutions for living in affluent countries. Lifestyle changes and technological leaps need to be combined and fostered by legislation.

中文翻译：

---

芬兰将消费缩减至普遍基本收入水平达不到可持续碳足迹

摘要 人类经济活动和碳排放已被认为是对环境的真正威胁。目前所有发达经济体基于消费的碳足迹水平都大大超过了可持续水平。科学家得出的结论是，除了技术解决方案外，还需要降低消费规模和对生活方式进行深远的改变，以实现环境可持续性。在这项研究中，我们提供了一个切实可行的现实例子，从欧洲福利国家公民的角度揭示了所需变革的规模。全民基本收入 (UBI) 表示刚好足以满足基本需求的收入，例如食物、住所和药物。在我们的案例国家芬兰，UBI 实际上与最低收入十分之一的收入处于同一水平。本研究的目的是呈现和分析与 UBI 相对应的消费水平的碳足迹。我们将这种低收入水平的碳足迹与芬兰的平均碳足迹进行比较，并根据全球碳预算讨论它们的可持续性。我们使用基于芬兰 ENVIMAT 模型的输入-输出方法。UBI 级别的平均碳足迹为 4.8 tCO2-eq，它侧重于必需品。它明显低于芬兰 9.4 吨二氧化碳当量的平均碳足迹，但仍远未达到与当前减缓气候变化目标相符的水平。结果强调了为富裕国家的生活找到真正的低碳解决方案是多么具有挑战性。生活方式的改变和技术的飞跃需要通过立法来结合和促进。