Accelerating an Equitable Transition A Framework for Economic EquityI N S I G H T R E P O R TJ A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4In collaboration with Boston Consulting GroupContentsCover: Aboodi Vesakaran, Unsplash© 2024 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system. Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are as a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its members, Partners or other stakeholders. Foreword1 Introduction: The climate-inequality nexus 1.1 Emissions and inequality: Parallel trends1.2 Understanding the socioeconomic impacts of the green transition2 What is an equitable transition?3 A Framework for Evaluating Economic Equity of the Green Transition3.1 Dimensions of the economic equity-green transition matrix4 Green transition-economic equity intersections5 Conclusion: Creating a path to an equitable transitionAcknowledgementsEndnotes344478913222324Accelerating an Equitable Transition: A Framework for Economic Equity2ForewordThe green transition, driven by a rising urgency of accelerated climate action, is a transformative economic shift that impacts the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services with far-reaching and complex implications on equity, fairness and justice. Achieving net zero will encompass a wide range of changes: a clean energy system; the greening of agriculture, mobility and heavy industry; sustainable cities and infrastructure; and the scaleup of circularity models.Carefully managing the economics of an equitable transition – putting at the centre the fair allocation of costs and benefits and the impact on people – will ultimately determine the success of this unprecedented transformation. The green transition is already impacting labour markets, shifting relative and absolute prices, changing the landscape of basic goods and services, and drawing new divides in the access to capital, knowledge and technology. The risk of the green transition widening inequalities is not a peripheral concern. It is set against a backdrop of widening inequality within countries and stalling global economic convergence, as well as a cost-of-living crisis currently felt by many people around the world. In no region of the world do the bottom 50% of the population own more than 5% of wealth,1 nor contribute to more than a quarter of their region’s emissions. Yet climate policies such as carbon taxes and efficient equipment mandates can have a disproportionate im...
