Quantifying the multiple benefits from low-carbon actions in a greenhouse gas abatement cost curve framework

This paper documents the assumptions and analysis that underlie the presentation and discussion of the exhibit on the Global GHG Abatement Benefit and Co-benefit Curve: 2030 in the Commission’s global report Better Growth, Better Climate. This analysis builds on the concept of a marginal abatement cost (MAC) curve, presenting this instead in terms of the marginal abatement benefits: the net financial benefits (once capital and operational costs are taken into consideration) of over 200 options for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their global potential. It additionally incorporates monetised valuations of co-benefits to reflect the wider benefits to society of the relevant actions. This provides a revised assessment of the global abatement potential that can have net positive benefits. This analysis does not attempt to address these issues, but is intended to emphasise the importance of considering a fuller range of benefits of actions to reduce carbon emissions when comparing these with higher-carbon alternatives.