The role of health co-benefits in the development of climate change mitigation policies in Australia, the European Union, China and the United States

© 2019 Dr. Annabelle Emily Alice WorkmanGovernments are yet to commit to action on climate change commensurate with the likelihood and severity of predicted impacts. The human health consequences of a changing climate are substantial, already being felt and will be exacerbated without ambitious and urgent action. Acting to mitigate climate change can result in ancillary benefits to health outcomes, also known as health co-benefits. Numerous studies over the past two decades have estimated the monetised value of a range of health co-benefits that may result from the implementation of mitigation measures. These studies conclude that accounting for health co-benefits can partially, if not fully, offset abatement costs. Despite this economic rationale for climate action, numerous climate change and health scholars have questioned the influence of health co-benefits on final policies. To date, there has been limited research investigating the political traction of health co-benefits. To begin to address this knowledge gap, this thesis examines the role of health co-benefits in climate change mitigation policy-making in four Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. To do so, I first review literature on i) the political economy of health and climate change; ii) the science-policy interface; and iii) power in policy-making in order to identify areas where barriers for the consideration of health co-benefits in climate change mitigation policies may exist. Next, I outline the methods and analytical approach used. I then examine the role of health co-benefits in climate change mitigation policies through the development of case studies for Australia and the European Union. Next, I present results of my analysis of select Chinese and American climate change policy documents published between 2007 and 2017. The key finding of this research is that while health co-benefits are often a driver of air pollution mitigation policies, their consideration in the development of climate change mitigation policies is context- and policy-dependent. In considering the implications of this finding, I discuss key factors influencing the political traction of health co-benefits in the context of existing literature and possible policy implications. This thesis concludes by outlining contributions of this research to the literature and suggesting future research opportunities. The significance of this research is its extension of the burgeoning literature on health co-benefits and climate change mitigation policy-making from a social science perspective. Further, this thesis articulates implications for policy and identifies potential opportunities to enhance the political traction of health co-benefits in climate change mitigation policies at a time when strong climate action is so desperately needed