Every $1 Invested In Climate Could Deliver $15 In Benefits
NAIROBI — Every $1 invested in tackling climate change and air pollution together can generate around $15 in economic benefits, higher than the return from addressing climate change and clean air separately, according to a report published by the UN Environment Program and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. Released on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, the report, titled “Hidden Assets: The Economic and Health Case for Climate and Clean Air Action,” provides the first comprehensive global economic assessment of integrated climate and clean-air action, factoring in both market and non-market gains.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, emphasized that clean air is an essential driver of development, health, food, energy security, and climate stability. She noted that proven solutions already exist, but decisive leadership from governments, financial institutions, and businesses remains necessary to deploy them at scale.
To illustrate the scale of current spending, 2.18 percent of global GDP went to explicit fossil fuel subsidies in 2022, while 9.3 percent went to healthcare in 2023. The report calculates that every year of delayed action forfeits over $1.5 trillion annually in potential benefits, equivalent to 0.5 percent of global GDP. Even when excluding non-market welfare gains, the examined measures yield roughly $4 for every $1 invested.
Elliott Harris, independent co-chair of the assessment, explained that a benefit-cost ratio of 15 to 1 would instantly attract capital in any other sector. However, investment lags because the returns are distributed across healthcare systems, labor productivity, and avoided climate damage rather than appearing on a single balance sheet. Harris warned that finance ministries maintaining separate budget lines for climate and air quality are missing out on trillions.
The 15 to 1 return reflects lower healthcare costs, greater labor productivity, avoided physical damage, and the monetary value of saved lives. Exposure to human-caused outdoor air pollution caused an estimated 6.4 million premature deaths worldwide, while household air pollution linked to a further 2 million premature deaths, including roughly 300,000 children. Outdoor pollution also contributed to millions of new cases of childhood asthma, dementia, heart attacks, pulmonary disease, diabetes, stroke, and lung cancer.
The proposed policy package spans six sectors, including energy systems, transport, agriculture, and waste management. By combining long-term decarbonization with actions targeting super pollutants like methane and black carbon, full implementation of these measures could cumulatively prevent 144 million air pollution-related premature deaths by 2050. (IANS)
