Sweet spots and fell swoops: Common solutions for clean air, climate control and public health

摘要

To avoid rapid, high-risk changes in the world's climate, emissions of greenhouse gases must be cut substantially. Moreover, it will be difficult to contain warming to less than 3-4 degrees above pre-industrial levels unless the turnaround in emissions occurs within a decade. In the past, energy transitions of this magnitude have been highly disruptive, resulting in serious environmental damage, increased social inequalities and shortened life expectancy. Are there paths to a low carbon future that can achieve the opposite result -simultaneous improvements in the quality of the environment and public health? This paper examines the evidence for health-enhancing mitigation of climate change.