Health gains make actions to curb climate change cost neutral, says WHO

Millions of lives could be saved if countries keep to global goals for mitigating the effects of climate change, but efforts must be radically stepped up, say experts.

A World Health Organization report said a million lives a year worldwide could be saved by 2050 just through reductions in air pollution linked to burning fossil fuels.

It said that the economic benefits of improving people’s health would be around “double the cost” of fulfilling commitments to curb carbon emissions made under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

WHO delivered a special report on climate change and health at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland, on 5 December.1

World leaders, scientists, and government officials have gathered there for discussions, three years after the Paris Agreement set clear targets to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C and to try to reduce the increase to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.2

The latest WHO report was produced by 80 health professionals, academic experts, representatives of civil society, and international agencies.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said it was clear that climate change was already having a serious impact on human lives and health.

He said, “It threatens the basic elements we all need for good health—clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply, and safe shelter—and will undermine decades of progress in global health. We cannot afford to delay action any further.”

WHO said the number of vulnerable people exposed to heat waves increased by 125 million between 2000 and 2016.

It also highlighted the scale of child undernutrition from droughts and the devastating impacts of floods on populations and health facilities.

It said measures could be taken to protect health including ensuring more resilient and sustainable healthcare facilities, disaster risk reduction, and improved warning systems for extreme weather and infectious disease outbreaks.

“But the lack of investment is leaving the most vulnerable behind,” said Joy St John, WHO’s assistant director general for climate and other determinants of health.

The report said the Pacific Islands were among those countries contributing the least to greenhouse gas emissions but were among those likely to be hardest hit by climate change impacts, and described the scale of support as “woefully inadequate.”

Currently, only 3% of health resources are invested in prevention and “only 0.5% of multilateral climate finance has gone to health projects.”

The report said the air pollutants which are causing ill health, and the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change, are emitted from many of the same sectors, including energy, housing, transport, and agriculture.

WHO said exposure to air pollution causes seven million deaths worldwide every year, costing an estimated $5.1tn (£4tn; €4.5tn) in welfare losses globally.

In the 15 countries that emit the most greenhouse gas emissions, the health impacts of air pollution are estimated to cost more than 4% of their gross domestic product (GDP).

WHO said actions to meet the Paris goals would cost around 1% of global GDP. China and India would see the biggest “health gains” from investing in climate action.

Maria Neira, WHO’s director of public health, environmental and social determinants of health, said, “The health burden of polluting energy sources is now so high, that moving to cleaner and more sustainable choices for energy supply, transport, and food systems effectively pays for itself.

“When health is taken into account, climate change is an opportunity, not a cost.”

WHO said switching to low carbon energy sources would also promote “active transport” such as cycling that would help increase physical activity and could help prevent diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

It said countries should “account for health” in all cost benefit analyses of climate change mitigation.

City mayors and other “subnational leaders” could mobilise efforts across different sectors to cut carbon emissions, increase resilience, and promote health.