Co-Benefits of Emission Reduction Strategies in Climate Policy

Emission reduction strategies devised to curb greenhouse gas concentrations offer a spectrum of ancillary advantages that extend far beyond climate stabilisation. By targeting sectors such as energy generation, transport, agriculture and residential heating, policies to achieve net zero or carbon neutrality simultaneously improve air quality, mitigate health risks, enhance agricultural productivity and foster economic resilience. Cleaner combustion and fuel switching reduce emissions of fine particulate matter and ozone precursors, leading to fewer cardiopulmonary illnesses and premature deaths. In rural and urban settings alike, integrated policy frameworks reveal that investments in low-carbon infrastructure can lower energy poverty, generate local employment and stimulate innovation in clean technologies. Moreover, many analyses show that the monetary value of avoided health and environmental damages often equals or exceeds the direct costs of decarbonisation. These co-benefits strengthen the case for ambitious climate targets by demonstrating tangible, near-term gains for public health, food security and sustainable development. Real-world examples range from rapid adoption of electric cooking and heating in rural communities to large-scale shifts in transport modes that boost physical activity. Collectively, the evidence underscores the imperative of multisectoral action and cross-boundary cooperation to maximise synergies between climate mitigation and broader societal objectives.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Model-based analyses of rural energy systems have shown that electrification of cooking and heating in low-income regions can triple energy consumption while dramatically reducing air pollution, with monetised health gains offsetting transformation costs in most provinces. Studies of an early carbon peak reveal that accelerated mitigation in line with a 1.5 °C trajectory could avoid hundreds of thousands of PM2.5-related deaths by mid-century, producing net economic benefits that outweigh implementation expenses. Evaluations of stringent clean air actions over recent decades indicate that phasing out outdated combustion facilities not only curbs local pollutants but also yields a net cumulative reduction of gigatonnes of CO2, highlighting the dual advantage of clean-air regulation for climate and public health. Global assessments of nationally determined pledges demonstrate that aligning emission reduction commitments with direct air pollution controls can prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and agricultural losses annually, effectively counterbalancing the costs of policy adoption.

Co-Benefits of Emission Reduction Strategies in Climate Policy publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in co-benefits of emission reduction strategies in climate policy across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Co-benefits: simultaneous positive outcomes in health, environment or economy that occur when implementing emission reduction policies.

Integrated assessment model: computational framework combining climate, energy, economic and air quality systems to evaluate policy outcomes.

Particulate matter (PM2.5): airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres that affect human health and air quality.

Net zero emissions: achieving a balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and removed from the atmosphere.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): climate action plans and emissions reduction targets submitted by countries under the Paris Agreement.

References

1. Impact on mortality of pathways to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in England and Wales: a multisectoral modelling study. The Lancet Planetary Health (2023).
2. Costs and health benefits of the rural energy transition to carbon neutrality in China. Nature Communications (2023).
3. Health co-benefits from air pollution and mitigation costs of the Paris Agreement: a modelling study. The Lancet Planetary Health (2018).
4. Air quality co-benefits for human health and agriculture counterbalance costs to meet Paris Agreement pledges. Nature Communications (2018).
5. Air quality and health co-benefits of China’s carbon dioxide emissions peaking before 2030. Nature Communications (2022).
6. Co-benefits of CO2 emission reduction from China’s clean air actions between 2013-2020. Nature Communications (2022).
7. The impact of human health co-benefits on evaluations of global climate policy. Nature Communications (2019).