WHO: Six Climate-Health Actions Could Save 1.6 Million Lives and Generate $9.3 Trillion in Benefits Each Year
Written by AI from who.int's report. Not checked by a person.
A new WHO report released ahead of COP31 identifies six proven interventions — from heat-warning systems to fossil-fuel pricing reform — that together could prevent 1.6 million deaths annually and avoid 16.7 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
The World Health Organization has released a new report ahead of COP31, where governments are expected to share updated climate commitments, identifying six proven climate and health interventions that could collectively save 1.6 million lives per year and deliver $9.3 trillion in combined economic and fiscal benefits annually. The six actions are: heat-health warning systems, climate-resilient drinking-water services, basic sanitation services, hygiene and handwashing facilities, cleaner household fuels and technologies for cooking and heating, and efficient fossil-fuel pricing policies. Reforming fossil-fuel subsidies and introducing appropriate taxes is projected to prevent the largest share of deaths — roughly 1.2 million annually — while also generating $3 trillion in economic welfare benefits and $5.4 trillion in fiscal benefits each year. Heat-health warning systems offer the highest return on investment among the six measures, generating an estimated $835 in benefits for every dollar spent. Across five of the six actions, each dollar invested is estimated to yield $24 in benefits. Together, the interventions could also avoid 16.7 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, equivalent to 31% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions excluding land use, land use change and forestry. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the report shows that scaling up affordable, proven actions could save millions of lives, with the greatest gains in countries that need them most, and called on governments to place health at the centre of climate action.
