A wedge-based approach to estimating health co-benefits of climate change mitigation activities in the United States

Technical Report · Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1241151· OSTI ID:1241151

Balbus, John M. ^[1]; Greenblatt, Jeffery B. ^[1]; Chari, Ramya ^[2]; Millstein, Dev ^[1]; Ebi, Kristie L. ^[3]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2. Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (United States)
3. ClimAdapt, Inc., Los Altos, CA (United States)

While it has been recognized that actions reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can have significant positive and negative impacts on human health through reductions in ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations, these impacts are rarely taken into account when analyzing specific policies. This study presents a new framework for estimating the change in health outcomes resulting from implementation of specific carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction activities, allowing comparison of different sectors and options for climate mitigation activities. Our estimates suggest that in the year 2020, the reductions in adverse health outcomes from lessened exposure to PM2.5 would yield economic benefits in the range of $6 to $14 billion (in 2008 USD), depending on the specific activity. This equates to between $40 and $93 per metric ton of CO₂ in health benefits. Specific climate interventions will vary in the health co-benefits they provide as well as in potential harms that may result from their implementation. Rigorous assessment of these health impacts is essential for guiding policy decisions as efforts to reduce GHG emissions increase in scope and intensity.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1241151
• Report Number(s): LBNL-6992E
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS