Putting People at the Center of Climate Action

The commentary asserts that bold climate action is not a trade-off with economic growth but an engine for it, potentially delivering $26 trillion in net global economic benefits by 2030. It advocates for 'people-centered climate action' that uses inclusive processes to unlock benefits for marginalized groups, such as recycling carbon pricing revenues to support low-income households. The text provides sector-specific opportunities in energy, urban planning, and food systems, while emphasizing that adaptation investments of $1.8 trillion could yield $7.1 trillion in benefits. It highlights real-world examples from Indonesia, Canada, and Spain to demonstrate how low-carbon transitions can reduce poverty and create millions of green jobs.

• Global climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could provide $26 trillion in net economic benefits and create over 65 million new low-carbon jobs by 2030, while preventing more than 700,000 deaths caused by air pollution.
• People-centered climate action is defined by three core components: utilizing an inclusive process, purposefully unlocking social and economic benefits, and ensuring a just transition from high-carbon economies to further equity.
• Carbon pricing and fossil fuel subsidy reforms can be designed to avoid regressive impacts by recycling revenues back to citizens via tax credits, direct payments, or public programs, as seen in Canada and Indonesia.
• Low-carbon urban development can significantly reduce emissions and costs; implementing such measures in cities could support 87 million jobs by 2030 and potentially generate $23.9 trillion in savings by 2050.
• Transforming food and land-use systems could generate $5.7 trillion in annual economic gains by 2030, double rural income growth, and create over 120 million new jobs in poor rural communities.
• Strategic investments in climate adaptation—specifically in early-warning systems, mangrove protection, dryland crop production, water management, and resilient infrastructure—could turn an $1.8 trillion investment into $7.1 trillion in net benefits between 2020 and 2030.
• Indonesia's Low-Carbon Development Initiative analysis suggests that cutting emissions by nearly 43% by 2030 could add $5.4 trillion to the country's GDP by 2045 and create over 15 million additional green jobs.

APA

World Resources Institute (2019). Putting People at the Center of Climate Action. https://www.wri.org/insights/putting-people-center-climate-action

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Putting People at the Center of Climate Action. 2019. https://www.wri.org/insights/putting-people-center-climate-action.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=World Resources Institute |title=Putting People at the Center of Climate Action |date=8 December 2019 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/putting-people-center-climate-action |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{worldresourcesinstitute2019putting, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Putting People at the Center of Climate Action}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/putting-people-center-climate-action}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }