Building Climate Equity

The report argues for integrating a 'capabilities approach'—derived from the work of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum—into global climate policy, specifically the 2015 international climate agreement. It suggests that climate policies, such as renewable energy and carbon pricing, should be designed to strengthen the basic capabilities of the least well-off rather than diminish them. The document recommends that the UNFCCC incorporate capabilities into the evaluation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and across all core agreement elements, including finance and technology, to achieve equitable climate action.

• The report advocates for a 'capabilities approach' to climate equity, which defines human well-being and human rights as depending on access to basic capabilities such as housing, physical safety, nutrition, transport, decent livelihoods, and participation in collective decision-making.
• Specific policy areas identified as opportunities to enhance well-being while pursuing low-carbon development include carbon pricing schemes, renewable energy policies, the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies, transportation, and community forest management.
• To achieve equitable adaptation and resilience, the report emphasizes the need for robust vulnerability assessments that consider social and economic contexts, as well as the active participation of the most vulnerable in national adaptation planning.
• The report recommends that the 2015 international climate agreement integrate capabilities into the development and evaluation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), focusing on four dimensions: human development, economic capacity, resilience to climate impacts, and governance capacity/social support structures.
• International institutions and policymakers are urged to provide upfront investment for low-carbon and adaptation pathways, ensure finance is accessible to non-traditional banking populations, and implement 'before and after' vulnerability assessments to track the impact of climate actions on affected groups.

APA

World Resources Institute (2015). Building Climate Equity. https://www.wri.org/research/building-climate-equity

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Building Climate Equity. 2015. https://www.wri.org/research/building-climate-equity.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Building Climate Equity |date=2015 |url=https://www.wri.org/research/building-climate-equity |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2015building, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Building Climate Equity}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/building-climate-equity}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }