Mitigation solutions are often evaluated in terms of costs and greenhouse gas reduction potentials, missing out on the consideration of direct effects on human well-being. Here, we systematically assess the mitigation potential of demand-side options categorized into avoid, shift and improve, and their human well-being links. We show that these options, bridging socio-behavioural, infrastructural and technological domains, can reduce counterfactual sectoral emissions by 40-80% in end-use sectors. Based on expert judgement and an extensive literature database, we evaluate 306 combinations of well-being outcomes and demand-side options, finding largely beneficial effects in improvement in well-being (79% positive, 18% neutral and 3% negative), even though we find low confidence on the social dimensions of well-being. Implementing such nuanced solutions is based axiomatically on an understanding of malleable rather than fixed preferences, and procedurally on changing infrastructures and choice architectures. Results demonstrate the high mitigation potential of demand-side mitigation options that are synergistic with well-being.

The Paris Agreement introduces long-term strategies as an instrument to inform progressively more ambitious emission reduction objectives, whilst holding development goals paramount in context of national circumstances. In the lead up to COP21, the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project developed mid-century low-emission pathways for 16 countries, based on an innovative pathway design framework. In this Perspective we describe this framework and show how it can support the development of sectorally and technologically detailed and policy-relevant country-driven strategies consistent with the Paris Agreement climate goal. We also discuss how this framework can be used to engage stakeholder input and buy-in; design implementation policy packages; reveal necessary technological, financial and institutional enabling conditions; and support global stocktaking and ratcheting of ambition.

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The Paris agreement stresses on concerted efforts to limit global temperature increase to 2°C and make efforts towards achieving 1.5°C temperature stabilization. Countries announced actions under the Nationally Determined Contributions outlining domestic mitigation actions to achieve the global target. Understanding the impact of these actions on achieving these ambitions requires an assessment of long term national level scenarios. Limited studies currently exist that model long term scenarios at national level addressing the impacts of Nationally Determined Contributions and the additional actions required, especially at the sectoral level. The paper compares four alternate future scenarios for India spanning till 2050, with a specific focus on the passenger and freight transportation. The analysis is performed using the ANSWER MARKAL model and complemented with methodologies to estimate transportation demand under strong decarbonisation pathways. The results show that 1.5°C scenario would need immediate actions and deep transformations. Demand side actions would, in addition to infrastructure investments require transforming human behaviour through use of information technology, internet and sharing economy. Clean vehicle technologies need to play a much bigger role and fossil fuel dependence would be moderated with the dominance of electricity, hydrogen and biofuels. The higher share of electricity in transport is complimented with accelerated decarbonisation of electricity. This transformation required for 1.5°C scenario calls for innovations that would be driven through national and sectoral policies and explicit carbon prices.

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