Only discounted lifetime 
monetary costs are considered. Where a gradual colour transition is shown, the breakdown of the potential into cost categories is not well known or depends heavily on factors such 
as geographical location, resource availability, and regional circumstances, and the colours indicate the range of estimates. The uncertainty in the total potential is typically 25–50%. 
When interpreting this ﬁgure, the following should be taken into account: (1) The mitigation potential is uncertain, as it will depend on the reference technology (and emissions) 
being displaced, the rate of new technology adoption, and several other factors; (2) Different options have different feasibilities beyond the cost aspects, which are not reﬂected in 
the ﬁgure; and (3) Costs for accommodating the integration of variable renewable energy sources in electricity systems are expected to be modest until 2030, and are not included. 
Panel (b) displays the indicative potential of demand-side mitigation options for 2050. Potentials are estimated based on approximately 500 bottom-up studies representing all 
global regions. The baseline (white bar) is provided by the sectoral mean GHG emissions in 2050 of the two scenarios (IEA-STEPS and IP_ModAct) consistent with policies announced 
by national governments until 2020. The green arrow represents the demand-side emissions reductions potentials. The range in potential is shown by a line connecting dots displaying 
the highest and the lowest potentials reported in the literature. Food shows demand-side potential of socio-cultural factors and infrastructure use, and changes in land-use patterns 
enabled by change in food demand. Demand-side measures and new ways of end-use service provision can reduce global GHG emissions in end-use sectors (buildings, land transport, 
food) by 40–70% by 2050 compared to baseline scenarios, while some regions and socioeconomic groups require additional energy and resources. The last row shows how demand-
side mitigation options in other sectors can inﬂuence overall electricity demand. The dark grey bar shows the projected increase in electricity demand above the 2050 baseline due 
to increasing electriﬁcation in the other sectors.