Plenary Roundtable - We already live in an altered world due to climate change. Evidence is mounting that the planet is approaching irreversible climate tipping points, and that the window for keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5°C is rapidly closing. However, achieving this goal is essential and remains possible.
A transformative shift in policy and societal action is urgently needed to limit further dramatic impacts on current and future generations. Systematically putting people’s well-being at the centre of climate action will be crucial for achieving this shift in a fair and effective way. Well-being approaches can help take a broader and more preventative view of the consequences of climate change, including on inequalities, poverty, and under-addressed issues of vulnerability such as physical disability and mental health. They can help ensure that green transition strategies are just and fair, taking into account actual and projected inequalities across all dimensions of individual, community, and societal well-being. Well-being approaches can also help reduce instances of ‘maladaptation’, where adaptation and mitigation efforts lead to unintended negative consequences, by helping provide a more comprehensive consideration of the impacts of climate action in the short- and long-term. And ultimately they can strengthen the political and social feasibility of pro-climate policies and other transformative actions by ensuring they are inclusive, transparent and centre the needs of people, households and communities.
This session was moderated by Enrico Giovannini, full professor of Economic statistics and Sustainable development, University of Rome Tor Vergata.
