- Benefits of mitigation to human health and nature accrue before the benefits of mitigation are apparent.
- Health benefits are of higher economic value than the cost of mitigation policies.
- Rapid emission reductions are needed across all sectors; adopting the right policies can make a big difference to health and wider environmental benefits.
- The value of health co-benefits can justify rapid scaling up of mitigation policies and technologies, and thus accelerate progress towards a zero-emissions economy.
- Benefits of mitigation to human health and nature accrue before the benefits of mitigation are apparent.
- Health benefits are of higher economic value than the cost of mitigation policies.
- Rapid emission reductions are needed across all sectors; adopting the right policies can make a big difference to health and wider environmental benefits.
- The value of health co-benefits can justify rapid scaling up of mitigation policies and technologies, and thus accelerate progress towards a zero-emissions economy.
The increasingly intensive emissions of GHGs that cause human-induced climate change have negative health effects on humans and the natural environment. Estimates of the costs of mitigation (e.g. with renewable energies, active transport or NbS) are comparable to or lower than the full economic value of saved lives and reduced illness and protecting or restoring the natural world. In other words, investments in mitigation are well worth making and will save communities and countries money in the long term. Biodiversity losses lead to losses in ecosystems and their corresponding contributions to humans. These losses include reduced crop yields and fish catches, losses from flooding and erosion and loss of potential new sources of medicines. Furthermore, many of the co-benefits to human health and nature take place shortly after mitigation investments are made (e.g. when reducing CH4 emissions).
Without immediate investments in emissions reduction, it will not be possible to fully protect and enhance the resilience of those who are most at risk from the health impacts of climate change, many of whom already face increasing health inequities. Failing to act swiftly will enlarge the social gap not only among low-, middle- and high-income countries but also within countries. There are trade-offs to manage, including job losses in certain industries compared to job gains in others. Importantly, a transition to a less polluting and healthier society must consider the importance of a diversified and context specific approach. This indicates that the distribution of benefits is as important as the magnitude of the benefits.
The increasingly intensive emissions of GHGs that cause human-induced climate change have negative health effects on humans and the natural environment. Estimates of the costs of mitigation (e.g. with renewable energies, active transport or NbS) are comparable to or lower than the full economic value of saved lives and reduced illness and protecting or restoring the natural world. In other words, investments in mitigation are well worth making and will save communities and countries money in the long term. Biodiversity losses lead to losses in ecosystems and their corresponding contributions to humans. These losses include reduced crop yields and fish catches, losses from flooding and erosion and loss of potential new sources of medicines. Furthermore, many of the co-benefits to human health and nature take place shortly after mitigation investments are made (e.g. when reducing CH4 emissions).
Without immediate investments in emissions reduction, it will not be possible to fully protect and enhance the resilience of those who are most at risk from the health impacts of climate change, many of whom already face increasing health inequities. Failing to act swiftly will enlarge the social gap not only among low-, middle- and high-income countries but also within countries. There are trade-offs to manage, including job losses in certain industries compared to job gains in others. Importantly, a transition to a less polluting and healthier society must consider the importance of a diversified and context specific approach. This indicates that the distribution of benefits is as important as the magnitude of the benefits.
Improvements in health and economic data availability, including in low- and middle-income countries, have strengthened the science of climate change mitigation and its resulting health co-benefits. Advancements in the understanding of the drivers of health impacts resulted in a shift from improvements in technological efficiency, which in turn led to increased energy consumption, to a systems approach that recognizes the impact of human activity on the health of humans and nature. To date, there are examples relevant to all sectors that can support decision makers to incentivize transitions in transport, agriculture, forestry, food production, energy, industry and lifestyles that ensure Planetary Health in All Policies (PhiAP). While the drivers and solutions are increasingly becoming well known, the economic benefits are not yet always well understood. More research is needed to develop frameworks that systematically define indicators of health co-benefits, to better be able to compare across studies, and to understand how they can be consistently reflected in economic terms.
Improvements in health and economic data availability, including in low- and middle-income countries, have strengthened the science of climate change mitigation and its resulting health co-benefits. Advancements in the understanding of the drivers of health impacts resulted in a shift from improvements in technological efficiency, which in turn led to increased energy consumption, to a systems approach that recognizes the impact of human activity on the health of humans and nature. To date, there are examples relevant to all sectors that can support decision makers to incentivize transitions in transport, agriculture, forestry, food production, energy, industry and lifestyles that ensure Planetary Health in All Policies (PhiAP). While the drivers and solutions are increasingly becoming well known, the economic benefits are not yet always well understood. More research is needed to develop frameworks that systematically define indicators of health co-benefits, to better be able to compare across studies, and to understand how they can be consistently reflected in economic terms.
At a global level, decision makers need to:
- adopt a PhiAP approach to better leverage health benefits when developing policies as well as reducing the emergence of health risks;
- raise awareness of the health co-benefits and associated economic savings to increased climate change mitigation investments in low-, middle- and high-income countries;
- support countries to assess the health costs and benefits of mitigation action (or inaction).
At a national level, governments are urged to:
- stop direct and indirect support of activities that harm health, harm natural systems and increase greenhouse gas emissions, e.g. conventional approaches to infrastructure development including in transport and energy. Instead, take on an approach that incorporates health and climate mitigation;
- carefully design mitigation and adaptation interventions so that they promote healthy ecosystems, lower public health risks and save costs while minimizing trade-offs;
- invest in conserving, restoring, rewilding and improving the management of forests, grasslands, wetlands and agricultural lands because they could deliver an estimated 23.8 GtCO2 cumulative emissions reductions by 2030.[1]OECD (2020): Biodiversity and the economic response to COVID-19: Ensuring a green and resilient recovery. Edited by OECD. Available online at … Continue reading Substantial carbon is also stored and captured by marine ecosystems (see Insight 9).
Individuals should consider:
- taking immediate action, such as insulating their homes to lower their energy consumption, buying from sources that do not harm nature and choosing sustainable energy and food providers if they have the options available;
- reducing meat consumption to prevent cardiovascular disease as well as to reduce methane emissions that are contributing to climate change (applies mainly in wealthy countries);
- taking on an active travel approach with walking, cycling or public transport to maintain their health and that of the environment. Car sharing is a good alternative to conventional ownership.
At a global level, decision makers need to:
- adopt a PhiAP approach to better leverage health benefits when developing policies as well as reducing the emergence of health risks;
- raise awareness of the health co-benefits and associated economic savings to increased climate change mitigation investments in low-, middle- and high-income countries;
- support countries to assess the health costs and benefits of mitigation action (or inaction).
At a national level, governments are urged to:
- stop direct and indirect support of activities that harm health, harm natural systems and increase greenhouse gas emissions, e.g. conventional approaches to infrastructure development including in transport and energy. Instead, take on an approach that incorporates health and climate mitigation;
- carefully design mitigation and adaptation interventions so that they promote healthy ecosystems, lower public health risks and save costs while minimizing trade-offs;
- invest in conserving, restoring, rewilding and improving the management of forests, grasslands, wetlands and agricultural lands because they could deliver an estimated 23.8 GtCO2 cumulative emissions reductions by 2030.[2]OECD (2020): Biodiversity and the economic response to COVID-19: Ensuring a green and resilient recovery. Edited by OECD. Available online at … Continue reading Substantial carbon is also stored and captured by marine ecosystems (see Insight 9).
Individuals should consider:
- taking immediate action, such as insulating their homes to lower their energy consumption, buying from sources that do not harm nature and choosing sustainable energy and food providers if they have the options available;
- reducing meat consumption to prevent cardiovascular disease as well as to reduce methane emissions that are contributing to climate change (applies mainly in wealthy countries);
- taking on an active travel approach with walking, cycling or public transport to maintain their health and that of the environment. Car sharing is a good alternative to conventional ownership.
tonnes (Mt) of methane reduced:[3]United Nations Environment Programme and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (2021): Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions. Edited by United Nations Environment … Continue reading
- prevents approximately 1,430 annual premature deaths due to ozone globally;
- increases yields with 55,000 tonnes of wheat, 17,000 tonnes of soybeans, 42,000 tonnes of maize and 31,000 tonnes of rice annually
- avoids the annual loss of roughly 400 million hours of work, approximately 180,000 years, globally due to extreme heat.
on Brazil, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, the UK and the USA showed that investing in mitigation can reduce:
- 1.18 million air pollution related deaths,
- 5.86 million diet-related deaths and
- 1.15 million deaths due to physical inactivity in the countries stated above by 2040.
on Brazil, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, the UK and the USA showed that investing in mitigation can reduce:
- 1.18 million air pollution related deaths,
- 5.86 million diet-related deaths and
- 1.15 million deaths due to physical inactivity in the countries stated above by 2040.
tonnes (Mt) of methane reduced:[7]United Nations Environment Programme and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (2021): Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions. Edited by United Nations Environment … Continue reading
- prevents approximately 1,430 annual premature deaths due to ozone globally;
- increases yields with 55,000 tonnes of wheat, 17,000 tonnes of soybeans, 42,000 tonnes of maize and 31,000 tonnes of rice annually
- avoids the annual loss of roughly 400 million hours of work, approximately 180,000 years, globally due to extreme heat.
Retrofitting urban planning for low traffic neighbourhoods in London has shown reductions in car ownership and use, plus large increases in physical activity, reductions in injuries and reductions in street crime. This is a low cost (placing planters and cameras), equitable and scalable intervention, covering over 300,000 people in 6 months with hopeful implications for health and climate.[9]Goodman, A., Urban, S., and Aldred, R. (2020): The Impact of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Other Active Travel Interventions on Vehicle Ownership: Findings from the Outer London Mini-Holland … Continue reading[10]Aldred, R., and Goodman, A. (2020): Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: Evidence from the People and Places Survey of Outer London Active Travel Interventions. Findings. In … Continue reading[11]Laverty, A. A., Goodman, A., and Aldred, R. (2021): Low traffic neighbourhoods and population health. In BMJ 372. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n443.
Retrofitting urban planning for low traffic neighbourhoods in London has shown reductions in car ownership and use, plus large increases in physical activity, reductions in injuries and reductions in street crime. This is a low cost (placing planters and cameras), equitable and scalable intervention, covering over 300,000 people in 6 months with hopeful implications for health and climate.[13]Goodman, A., Urban, S., and Aldred, R. (2020): The Impact of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Other Active Travel Interventions on Vehicle Ownership: Findings from the Outer London Mini-Holland … Continue reading[14]Aldred, R., and Goodman, A. (2020): Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: Evidence from the People and Places Survey of Outer London Active Travel Interventions. Findings. In … Continue reading[15]Laverty, A. A., Goodman, A., and Aldred, R. (2021): Low traffic neighbourhoods and population health. In BMJ 372. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n443.
[+]
| ↑1, ↑2 | OECD (2020): Biodiversity and the economic response to COVID-19: Ensuring a green and resilient recovery. Edited by OECD. Available online at https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/biodiversity-and-the-economicresponse-to-covid-19-ensuring-a-green-and-resilient-recovery-d98b5a09/, checked on 10/7/2021. |
|---|---|
| ↑3, ↑7 | United Nations Environment Programme and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (2021): Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions. Edited by United Nations Environment Programme. Nairobi. Available online at https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-methane-assessment-benefits-and-costs-mitigatingmethane-emissions, checked on 10/7/2021. |
| ↑4, ↑6 | Lee, K., and Greenstone, M. (2021): Air Quality Life Index - Annual Update 2021. Edited by Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (Air Quality Life Index). Available online at https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/reports/, checked on 10/7/2021. |
| ↑5, ↑8 | IPBES (2019): Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Brondizio, E. S., Settele, J., Díaz, S., and Ngo, H. T. (editors). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 1148 pages. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3831673. |
| ↑9, ↑13 | Goodman, A., Urban, S., and Aldred, R. (2020): The Impact of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Other Active Travel Interventions on Vehicle Ownership: Findings from the Outer London Mini-Holland Programme. In Findings. DOI: 10.32866/001c.18200. |
| ↑10, ↑14 | Aldred, R., and Goodman, A. (2020): Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: Evidence from the People and Places Survey of Outer London Active Travel Interventions. Findings. In Findings. DOI: 10.32866/001c.17128. |
| ↑11, ↑15 | Laverty, A. A., Goodman, A., and Aldred, R. (2021): Low traffic neighbourhoods and population health. In BMJ 372. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n443. |
| ↑12, ↑16 | Gosnell, H., Charnley, S., and Stanley, P. (2020): Climate change mitigation as a co-benefit of regenerative ranching: insights from Australia and the United States. In Interface Focus, 10 (5), p. 20200027. DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2020.0027. |
[+]
| ↑1, ↑2 | OECD (2020): Biodiversity and the economic response to COVID-19: Ensuring a green and resilient recovery. Edited by OECD. Available online at https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/biodiversity-and-the-economicresponse-to-covid-19-ensuring-a-green-and-resilient-recovery-d98b5a09/, checked on 10/7/2021. |
|---|---|
| ↑3, ↑7 | United Nations Environment Programme and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (2021): Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions. Edited by United Nations Environment Programme. Nairobi. Available online at https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-methane-assessment-benefits-and-costs-mitigatingmethane-emissions, checked on 10/7/2021. |
| ↑4, ↑6 | Lee, K., and Greenstone, M. (2021): Air Quality Life Index - Annual Update 2021. Edited by Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (Air Quality Life Index). Available online at https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/reports/, checked on 10/7/2021. |
| ↑5, ↑8 | IPBES (2019): Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Brondizio, E. S., Settele, J., Díaz, S., and Ngo, H. T. (editors). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 1148 pages. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3831673. |
| ↑9, ↑13 | Goodman, A., Urban, S., and Aldred, R. (2020): The Impact of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Other Active Travel Interventions on Vehicle Ownership: Findings from the Outer London Mini-Holland Programme. In Findings. DOI: 10.32866/001c.18200. |
| ↑10, ↑14 | Aldred, R., and Goodman, A. (2020): Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: Evidence from the People and Places Survey of Outer London Active Travel Interventions. Findings. In Findings. DOI: 10.32866/001c.17128. |
| ↑11, ↑15 | Laverty, A. A., Goodman, A., and Aldred, R. (2021): Low traffic neighbourhoods and population health. In BMJ 372. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n443. |
| ↑12, ↑16 | Gosnell, H., Charnley, S., and Stanley, P. (2020): Climate change mitigation as a co-benefit of regenerative ranching: insights from Australia and the United States. In Interface Focus, 10 (5), p. 20200027. DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2020.0027. |
5
Global climate action must be just
1
Stabilizing at 1.5°C warming is still possible, but immediate and drastic global action is required
2
Rapid growth in methane and nitrous oxide emissions put us on track for 2.7°C warming
3
Megafires – climate change forces fire extremes to reach new dimensions with extreme impacts
4
Climate tipping elements incur high-impact risks
9
Building resilience of marine ecosystems is achievable by climate-adapted conservation and management, and global stewardship
1
Stabilizing at 1.5°C warming is still possible, but immediate and drastic global action is required
Rapid growth in methane and nitrous oxide emissions put us on track for 2.7°C warming
2
3
Megafires — Climate change forces fire extremes to reach new dimensions with extreme impacts
Climate tipping elements incur high-impact risks
4
5
Global climate action must be just
Supporting household behaviour changes is a crucial but often overlooked opportunity for climate action
6
7
Political challenges impede effectiveness of carbon pricing
Nature-based Solutions are critical for the pathway to Paris – but look at the fine print
8
10 New Insights in Climate Science
A year of climate-related science in review
Each year we consult researchers and carry out a horizon scan in fields related to climate change on what the latest findings and most important new emerging fields are. We summarize this in 10 important scientific insights, and the result has always been a rich and valuable scientific synthesis for policy and society at large, a testament to the ever-expanding and improving knowledge of our planetary climate systems and the interactions with the human world.Extras
Acknowledgements
The full authoring team and other contributors are listed here. The making of this report has been led by Future Earth, The Earth League and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). We also gratefully acknowledge support from Arizona State University (ASU), GERICS Climate Service Center Germany (an institution of Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon),
We acknowledge the work of the following individuals in their respective capacities:
Produced by: Future Earth, The Earth League, Azote, and the World Climate Research Programme
Website, graphics and publication design: Cultivate Communications, Azote
10 New Insights in Climate Science
A year of climate-related science in review
Each year we consult researchers and carry out a horizon scan in fields related to climate change on what the latest findings and most important new emerging fields are. We summarize this in 10 important scientific insights, and the result has always been a rich and valuable scientific synthesis for policy and society at large, a testament to the ever-expanding and improving knowledge of our planetary climate systems and the interactions with the human world.Extras
Acknowledgements
The full authoring team and other contributors are listed here. The making of this report has been led by Future Earth, The Earth League and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). We also gratefully acknowledge support from Arizona State University (ASU), GERICS Climate Service Center Germany (an institution of Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon),
We acknowledge the work of the following individuals in their respective capacities:
Produced by: Future Earth, The Earth League, Azote, and the World Climate Research Programme
Website, graphics and publication design: Cultivate Communications, Azote