The public health co-benefits of strategies consistent with net-zero emissions: a systematic review

Abstract

Moving towards net-zero emission societies is projected to provide human health co-benefits. However, the magnitude of these co-benefits is poorly documented and might be context specific. Synthesising the evidence on these co-benefits could enhance the engagement of decision makers and populations in climate mitigation actions. We performed database searches of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies published between database inception and Jan 1, 2024, identifying 3976 papers. Of these, 58 quantitative studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. These 58 papers explored 125 net-zero emission scenarios and considered various pathways by which climate policies can affect human health. Pathways addressing air quality, physical activity, and dietary changes found substantial health co-benefits, with a median mortality reduction of 1·5%. National or sub-national studies showed that net-zero policies would yield substantial local air quality benefits, independently of the actions taken in neighbouring countries. However, these co-benefits varied with explored emission sector, decarbonisation levers, modelling approach, and location. Studies that included a cost–benefit analysis estimated that monetised benefits outweighed the costs of implementing climate policies. This systematic review highlights the need for a standardised framework to assess and compare health impacts of climate mitigation actions across sectors and confirms that achieving net-zero goals supports far-reaching public health policies.

Translation

For the French translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.