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Accelerating Climate Action

Refocusing Policies through a Well-being Lens

image of Accelerating Climate Action

This report builds on the OECD Well-being Framework and applies a new perspective that analyses synergies and trade-offs between climate change mitigation and broader goals such as health, education, jobs, as well as wider environmental quality and the resources needed to sustain our livelihoods through time. This report takes an explicitly political economy approach to the low-emissions transitions needed across five economic sectors (electricity, heavy industry, residential, surface transport, and agriculture) that are responsible for more than 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Synergies between emissions reduction and broader well-being objectives, such as reduced air pollution and improved health, increase the incentives for early mitigation action. At the same time, the impact of climate policies on issues such as the affordability of energy and jobs need to be taken into account to counter growing economic and social inequalities within and between countries. The report argues that reframing climate policies using a well-being lens is necessary for making visible such synergies and trade-offs; allowing decision-makers to increase the former and anticipate, manage and minimise the latter. This requires us to rethink societal goals in terms of well-being, reframe our measures of progress and refocus policy-making accordingly.

English Also available in: French

Moving to sustainable industrial production

This chapter applies a well-being lens to the heavy industry sector. The first part discusses a number of priorities beyond the provision of products that align the sector to wider well-being and sustainability goals. It then explains how shifting towards a net-zero, circular and resource-efficient production is necessary to deliver the policy priorities identified. The second part proposes a set of indicators that will enable policy makers to track this shift while assessing the synergies and trade-offs between climate and other priorities in the sector.

English Also available in: French

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