Although distributive justice is at the core of the climate challenge, energy transitions research is largely focused on aggregate techno-economic outcomes. How can we re-frame climate mitigation research to incorporate well-being outcomes and preserve development opportunities for those in poverty around the world? In this talk, I will discuss an integrated framework for interdisciplinary research that bridges social sciences with energy-economic models of climate mitigation. I will also present new empirical results to show that affluence, more than poverty eradication, drives climate change, even in the Global South. Less than a tenth of US energy consumption per capita would suffice to support basic well-being for all. Yet, there is significant potential for equitable, low-carbon development pathways. This framework can also be applied to affluent societies to investigate how drastic emissions cuts can preserve, if not enhance, human well-being.

Narasimha D Rao is Associate Professor of Energy Systems, School of the Environment, Yale University and a Senior Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. He received his PhD from Stanford University in Environment and Resources, Masters from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Electrical Engineering and Technology Policy, and A.B from Dartmouth College.