When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing carbon sinks, and promoting adaptation to a changing climate, solutions abound. Implementing these solutions through policy, however, is anything but simple.
2 min. read
When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing carbon sinks, and promoting adaptation to a changing climate, solutions abound. Implementing these solutions through policy, however, is anything but simple. Taxes and regulations are often part of the discussion, but “both of these are tough measures to implement, and they get all sorts of resistance,” says Steven Kimbrough, a Wharton School professor in the Department of Operations and Information Management. As leaders of the Public Deliberation on Climate Transitions and Well-being Environmental Innovations Initiative (EII) research community, Kimbrough and Rand Quinn, associate professor at the Graduate School of Education, are studying an alternative. Their focus lies in exploring the ways that addressing climate change through policy can improve people’s quality of life through “co-benefits,” the outcomes that can accrue alongside the primary aim of climate action.
Focusing on quality of life offers two main advantages when it comes to understanding public opinion about climate policies, Kimbrough and Quinn note. Everyone would benefit from the better living conditions and health outcomes of addressing climate change, however, most people don’t consider those improvements when climate policies are raised, especially when they come with costs for things like electric vehicles or higher energy prices. While the science supporting climate transition policy may be difficult for the general public to understand in depth, “they understand how climate change negatively impacts their quality of life and well-being,” Quinn says.
For the past two years, with the support of EII, Kimbrough, Quinn, and a team of undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students have developed a protocol to uncover the connections between climate transition policies and co-benefits at a municipal level.
Taking urban trees as an example, “a cost-benefit assessment of urban forestry that focused on criteria like carbon emissions and temperature relief due to the urban heat island effect might conclude that the more trees, the better,” says Kimbrough. “However, there are serious concerns about trees being associated with gentrification and maintenance costs, especially in underserved neighborhoods. As a response, a tree planting policy needs to consider working in conjunction with other policies so that developing the urban forest is a solution that mitigates climate risks and benefits the local community.”
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