A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has said that six proven climate and health interventions could prevent 1.6 million deaths annually and generate up to $9.3 trillion in combined economic and fiscal benefits.
The report, released on Wednesday in Geneva, said scaling up the interventions globally could deliver $3.9 trillion in annual economic welfare benefits and a further $5.4 trillion in fiscal gains, while significantly reducing carbon emissions.
Titled Global Benefits and Costs of Prioritized Actions on Climate Change and Health, the report provides the first comprehensive analysis of the economic and fiscal returns from implementing six WHO-recommended climate and health measures.
The interventions include heat-health warning systems, climate-resilient drinking-water services, basic sanitation, hygiene and handwashing facilities, cleaner household fuels and cooking technologies, and efficient fossil fuel pricing policies.
According to WHO, implementing the measures could also prevent the release of 16.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 31 per cent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions, excluding emissions from land use and forestry.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the climate crisis was also a health emergency, but many of its devastating effects could be prevented using existing and affordable interventions.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis, but much of the harm it causes can be prevented with tools we already have,” he said.
Tedros urged governments to make health protection central to climate policies, particularly as countries prepare for the next round of climate negotiations.
The report estimated that every dollar invested in five of the six interventions could generate $24 in benefits, with low- and middle-income countries expected to record greater returns.
Heat-health warning systems emerged as one of the most cost-effective interventions, with every dollar invested estimated to generate $835 in benefits by preventing heat-related illnesses and deaths through relatively low-cost measures.
However, efficient fossil fuel pricing policies, including the removal of inefficient subsidies and appropriate taxation, were projected to deliver the largest overall gains.
The policies could prevent 1.2 million deaths annually, generate $3 trillion in economic welfare benefits and provide governments with $5.4 trillion in additional fiscal benefits each year.
Released ahead of COP31, where governments are expected to present their climate commitments, the report stressed the need to integrate health considerations into climate policies and investments.
It noted that climate-related health risks could be anticipated, prevented and reduced through coordinated interventions across healthcare systems and other sectors that determine public health.
With countries facing increasingly severe climate shocks in 2026, WHO called on governments, development partners and financing institutions to use the economic evidence to accelerate investments in the six interventions.
The organisation said scaling up the measures would deliver a triple benefit of healthier populations, reduced carbon emissions and stronger economies.
