Valuing the wider benefits of net zero

Valuing the wider benefits of net zero: Conceptual foundations of new assessment frameworks

How do we value the wider benefits, or ‘co-benefits,’ of climate action in decision‑making?

In a new open‑access paper, ECCI’s Andrew Sudmant and co-authors argue that this question cannot be reduced to a technical methodological problem.

Every assessment method embeds assumptions about whose values count, which benefits are prioritised, and what forms of knowledge are treated as legitimate.

These underlying value structures shape how co‑benefit assessment tools influence investment decisions, cross‑sector coordination, and the political feasibility of net‑zero pathways.

This research is part of the ECCI co-led Co-BENS programme and was supported by the Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC).

Written by Timothy Foxon, Joshua Lait, Carly McLachlan and Andrew Sudmant.