2000-watt society

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The 2000-watt society concept, introduced in 1998 by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), aims to reduce the average primary energy use of First World citizens to no more than 2,000 watts (equivalent to 2 kilowatt-hours per hour or 48 kilowatt-hours per day) by 2050, without compromising their standard of living.^[1]

In a 2008 referendum, more than three-quarters of Zurich's residents endorsed a proposal to lower the city's energy consumption to 2,000 watts per capita and cut greenhouse gas emissions to one ton per capita annually by 2050, with a clear exclusion of nuclear energy. This occasion marked the first democratic legitimization of the concept.^[2]

In 2009, energy consumption averaged 6,000 watts in Western Europe, 12,000 watts in the United States, 1,500 watts in China, and 300 watts in Bangladesh.^[1] At that time, Switzerland's average energy consumption stood at approximately 5,000 watts, having last been a 2,000-watt society in the 1960s.^[2]

The 2000-watt society initiative is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), the Association of Swiss Architects and Engineers, and other bodies.^[3]