Everyone must consume, but the wealthy consume more than most. Half of global household emissions come from the world's top 10% of income earners. In this review, we investigate the minimalist lifestyle to find out if minimalism could deliver the dual benefit of reduced carbon emissions and increased wellbeing. Minimalists have voluntarily chosen to have few possessions, despite economic and social structures that encourage consumption. Having fewer possessions suggests they might have a lower carbon emissions. A review of three other low-consumption lifestyles: frugalism, tightwadism and voluntary simplicity, offers some support for this hypothesis, but the empirical evidence regarding minimalism is scant. We also review minimalist motivations, finding some support for a positive association between wellbeing and minimalism. We conclude that while minimalism might offer wellbeing benefits, research on carbon emissions is inconclusive. Furthermore, even if minimalism did result in reduced emissions, the minimalist lifestyle maybe too individualistic to create social change.

中文翻译：

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极简主义生活方式可以减少碳排放并改善福祉吗？极简主义和其他低消费生活方式的回顾

每个人都必须消费，但富人的消费量超过大多数人。全球家庭排放量的一半来自世界收入最高的 10% 人群。在这篇评论中，我们调查了极简主义生活方式，以了解极简主义是否可以带来减少碳排放和增加福祉的双重好处。尽管经济和社会结构鼓励消费，但极简主义者自愿选择拥有很少的财产。拥有较少的财产表明他们的碳排放量可能较低。对其他三种低消费生活方式的回顾：节俭、吝啬和自愿简朴，为这一假设提供了一些支持，但有关极简主义的经验证据很少。我们还回顾了极简主义的动机，找到了一些支持幸福与极简主义之间积极联系的证据。我们的结论是，虽然极简主义可能会带来健康益处，但有关碳排放的研究尚无定论。此外，即使极简主义确实减少了排放，但极简主义的生活方式可能过于个人主义，无法创造社会变革。