Can Happiness Be Sustainable? Monitoring Global Consumption Footprints From 2015 to 2024

ABSTRACT Understanding how happiness relates to resource consumption requires considering not only domestic environmental impacts but also the broader transnational effects embedded in global trade. To address this gap, this study introduces the Consumption Footprint–Happiness Ratio ( CHR ), a visual analytic metric that captures the intensity of complete resource use required to sustain a unit of happiness. CHR draws an analogy between excessive resource consumption and “abdominal obesity,” providing an intuitive way to visualize countries' overreliance on transnational consumption. Using data from 121 countries between 2015 and 2024, the study compares the correlation between happiness and two types of environmental footprints: the domestic footprint ( DF ), which accounts only for internal resource use, and the complete consumption footprint ( CF ), which includes both domestic production and spillover effects from international trade. The results show that happiness is significantly more strongly associated with CF than with DF , particularly for raw material use, primary energy, fossil fuel depletion, and climate change—factors that undermine multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Moreover, negative spillovers from advanced economies' pursuit of happiness hinder less‐developed countries' progress on SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and weaken SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). CHR visualizations map the “abdominal shapes” of 121 countries over time, offering a novel tool for monitoring their trajectory toward sustainable happiness. The paper concludes by discussing global trends, behavioral drivers, and policy implications, offering insights into the intersection of happiness and sustainable consumption.