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The importance of health co-benefits in macroeconomic assessments of UK Greenhouse Gas emission reduction strategies

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Listed:
  • Henning Jensen
  • Marcus Keogh-Brown
  • Richard Smith
  • Zaid Chalabi
  • Alan Dangour
  • Mike Davies
  • Phil Edwards
  • Tara Garnett
  • Moshe Givoni
  • Ulla Griffiths
  • Ian Hamilton
  • James Jarrett
  • Ian Roberts
  • Paul Wilkinson
  • James Woodcock
  • Andy Haines

Abstract

We employ a single-country dynamically-recursive Computable General Equilibrium model to make health-focussed macroeconomic assessments of three contingent UK Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation strategies, designed to achieve 2030 emission targets as suggested by the UK Committee on Climate Change. In contrast to previous assessment studies, our main focus is on health co-benefits additional to those from reduced local air pollution. We employ a conservative cost-effectiveness methodology with a zero net cost threshold. Our urban transport strategy (with cleaner vehicles and increased active travel) brings important health co-benefits and is likely to be strongly cost-effective; our food and agriculture strategy (based on abatement technologies and reduction in livestock production) brings worthwhile health co-benefits, but is unlikely to eliminate net costs unless new technological measures are included; our household energy efficiency strategy is likely to breakeven only over the long term after the investment programme has ceased (beyond our 20 year time horizon). We conclude that UK policy makers will, most likely, have to adopt elements which involve initial net societal costs in order to achieve future emission targets and longer-term benefits from GHG reduction. Cost-effectiveness of GHG strategies is likely to require technological mitigation interventions and/or demand-constraining interventions with important health co-benefits and other efficiency-enhancing policies that promote internalization of externalities. Health co-benefits can play a crucial role in bringing down net costs, but our results also suggest the need for adopting holistic assessment methodologies which give proper consideration to welfare-improving health co-benefits with potentially negative economic repercussions (such as increased longevity). Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Henning Jensen & Marcus Keogh-Brown & Richard Smith & Zaid Chalabi & Alan Dangour & Mike Davies & Phil Edwards & Tara Garnett & Moshe Givoni & Ulla Griffiths & Ian Hamilton & James Jarrett & Ian Rober, 2013. "The importance of health co-benefits in macroeconomic assessments of UK Greenhouse Gas emission reduction strategies," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 223-237, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:121:y:2013:i:2:p:223-237
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-013-0881-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sébastien Dessus & David O'Connor, 2003. "Climate Policy without Tears CGE-Based Ancillary Benefits Estimates for Chile," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 25(3), pages 287-317, July.
    2. Jennifer Chung–I Li, 2002. "Including the Feedback of Local Health Improvement in Assessing Costs and Benefits of GHG Reduction," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 282-304, November.
    3. Stern,Nicholas, 2007. "The Economics of Climate Change," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521700801, January.
    4. Sudhir Anand and Amartya Sen, 1994. "Human development Index: Methodology and Measurement," Human Development Occasional Papers (1992-2007) HDOCPA-1994-02, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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    3. Aldred, Rachel & Watson, Tom & Lovelace, Robin & Woodcock, James, 2019. "Barriers to investing in cycling: Stakeholder views from England," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 149-159.
    4. Lott, Melissa C. & Pye, Steve & Dodds, Paul E., 2017. "Quantifying the co-impacts of energy sector decarbonisation on outdoor air pollution in the United Kingdom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 42-51.
    5. Cui, Qiang & Li, Xin-yi, 2021. "Investigating the Profit Pollution Abatement Costs difference before and after the “Carbon neutral growth from 2020” strategy was proposed," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
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