11.8 Synergies and trade-offs with other policy areas

Anthropogenic GHG emissions are intricately linked to the structure of consumption patterns and levels of activity, which themselves are driven by a wide range of non-climate-related policy interests. These include policies on air quality, public health, energy security, poverty reduction, trade, FDI/investment regimes, industrial development, agriculture, population, urban and rural development, taxation and fiscal policies. There are therefore common drivers behind policies addressing economic development and poverty alleviation, employment, energy security, and local environmental protection on the one hand, and GHG mitigation on the other. Put another way, there are multiple drivers for actions that reduce emissions, and they produce multiple benefits.

Potential synergies and trade-offs between measures directed at non-climate objectives and GHG mitigation have been addressed by an increasing number of studies. The literature points out that, in most cases, climate mitigation is not the goal, but rather an outgrowth of efforts driven by economic, security, or local environmental concerns. The most promising policy approaches, then, will be those that capitalize on natural synergies between climate protection and development priorities to advance both simultaneously. Policies directed towards other environmental problems, such as air pollution, can often be adapted at low or no cost to reduce greenhouse gas emissions simultaneously. Such integration/policy coherence is especially relevant for developing countries, where economic and social development – not climate change mitigation – are the top priorities (Chandler et al., 2002). Since the TAR, a wealth of new literature has addressed potential synergies and trade-offs between GHG mitigation and air pollution control, employment and energy security concerns.

11.8.1 Interaction between GHG mitigation and air pollution control

Many of the traditional air pollutants and GHGs have common sources. Their emissions interact in the atmosphere and, separately or jointly, they cause a variety of environmental effects at the local, regional and global scales. Since the TAR, a wealth of new literature has pointed out that capturing synergies and avoiding trade-offs when addressing the two problems simultaneously through a single set of technologies or policy measures offers potentially large cost reductions and additional benefits.

However, there are important differences at the temporal and spatial scales between air pollution control and climate change effects. Benefits from reduced air pollution are more certain; they occur earlier, and closer to the places where measures are taken, while climate impact is long-term and global. These mismatches of scales are mirrored by a separation of the current scientific and policy frameworks that address these problems (Swart et al., 2004; Rypdal et al., 2005).

Since the TAR, numerous studies have identified a variety of co-benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation on air pollution for industrialized and developing countries. In many cases, when measured using standard economic techniques, the health and environmental benefits add up to substantial fractions of the direct mitigation costs. More recent studies have found that decarbonization strategies generate significant direct cost savings because of reduced air pollution costs, highlighting the urgency of an integrated approach for greenhouse gas mitigation and air pollution control strategies.