Exploring the Relationship Between Global Well-being and CO2Emissions

Abstract

This study provides an exploratory statistical assessment of the relationship between individual well-being and CO2per capita emissions, and of the mediating factors of this relationship. Building on research which urges sustainable development to integrate subjective well-being, we collected 45 multidisciplinary indices that consider the environmental and human health of every member state of the United Nations (N= 196 countries). We are curious to understand whether the relationship between individual happiness and GHG per capita emissions is mediated by the collected indices. Well-being positively and significantly predicts CO2per capita emissions at a global level. Access to adequate water, multidimensional poverty, and gender inequality show evidence of full mediation of this relationship, while seventeen other variables show evidence of partial mediation. These findings provide practical implications for policy recommendations to downscale carbon consumption while ensuring human well-being.