Maximizing the public health benefits from climate action

• Authors: Dean Spears, George D Thurston, Sara De Matteis, Kris Murray, Pauline Scheelbeek, Noah Scovronick, Mark Budolfson, Paolo Vineis
• Published in: Environmental Science & Technology
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Abstract

Environmental benefits that could be gained by successful climate change mitigation actions are usually subject to long action-reaction time lags. Furthermore, the links of mitigation efforts to major sources of climate forcing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are often complex. Therefore, there is a risk that potentially effective mitigation strategies are discounted by policy-makers and the general public, and not given sufficient weight in economic models.

In contrast, if these mitigation strategies have human health cobenefits, they are much more likely to be appreciated by policy makers and the general public. Effects are more immediate, tangible, and often represent greater motivation for action. We present here the nature, scope, and policy implications of the potential human health and economic cobenefits from climate mitigation actions.