Teacher gives children governors in Finland. The Scandinavian education system is a key factor in the top of the “Years of Good Life (YoGL)” economic index.
Photographer: OLIVIER MORIN / AFP
Photographer: OLIVIER MORIN / AFP
Realizing the “Years of a Good Life” looking forward to a warming planet can be fundamental to unlocking the economic resources needed by humans to adapt to climate change.
The latest offer from researchers that seeks to balance sustainability and demands for economic growth is called the YoGL index. They will be assessed, which will be published next week by the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, challenging climate models aimed at monetizing the convenience of individuals. This is the latest study that suggests that economists need update their dimensions to meet the challenge of climate change.
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The YoGL index tests people’s ability to live in an “authorized state” in a changing environment, according to the researchers. They used data on education, longevity, health, income and life satisfaction. The impact of global warming on individuals is not described in dollars, euros or pounds “makes sense” as it reduces people’s ability to change, said lead author Wolfgang Lutz.
“We generally wanted to define an appropriate metric that shows that not everything needs to be measured in terms of money,” he said, adding that society does not have the capacity to improve systems. education and health care are well captured by existing models.
The paper expands into decades-long debate initiated by the Stern Report, which suggested that famines, rising oceans and superstitions that fueled climate change could cost the world $ 9.6 trillion. A subsequent study by analysts JP Morgan said investments worth $ 50 trillion may be needed to keep within the 1.5 ° C temperature rise called for by the Paris climate agreement. The gap between expected warming damage and the actions needed to mitigate change is key. international climate negotiation.
Years of good living and life expectancy at age 50 for 14 European countries
Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Scandinavian countries such as Finland and Sweden performed better in the YoGL index because of their commitment to universal education, which prepares better numbers for adapting to climate change. The females in conflict zones were facing the few years of good life, with 20-year-old females in Yemen and Rwanda looking forward to just 10 and 11 years respectively.
The index is not the first attempt to measure quality of life. The A Better Agenda published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations World Happiness Report have also sought to help economists and policy makers measure less visible well-being measures.
The new index seeks to elicit emotional responses to voting and include data that can be regulated worldwide, Lutz said. Yet there is some difference between the best performing economies. Finland will be listed at the top of the UN Happiness Report for the fourth consecutive year on Saturday.
Moving years of good life for women aged 20, India, Mexico and South Africa. Reducing poverty is a key driver in the life expectancy of a good life. Data in South Africa show that YoGL is increasing even as the HIV / AIDs outbreak leads to falling life expectancy.
Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The authors said their research opens up the possibility that “the social costs of carbon could be assessed in terms of years of quality of life lost among future generations, rather than just in terms of dollars.” For example, the index could be useful for subscribers insuring against low-probability, high-impact risks and policy makers developing rules to combat social issues such as air pollution, Lutz said.
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The economic locks and school closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are unlikely to have a long-term impact on the years of good life for young people, said the demographic, who works at the International Institute of Applied Systems Research outside Vienna.
“Many students used the pandemic as a good time to invest in their readings and studies,” he said. “The more educated people are, the better they can change.”