Climate and Clean-Air Action Could Return $15 for Every $1 Invested, U.N. Report Says
Photo by Janusz Walczak
Every $1 invested in coordinated efforts to address climate change and air pollution could generate about $15 in economic benefits, according to a United Nations report released Monday that urges governments and investors to treat cleaner air and lower emissions as a single policy priority.
The report, prepared by the U.N. Environment Programme and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, estimates that an integrated package of 25 measures could generate benefits equivalent to 2.8% of global gross domestic product by 2035, 4.5% by 2050 and 11.4% by 2100.
The assessment, Hidden Assets: The Economic and Health Case for Climate and Clean Air Action, was released on the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. The organizations described it as the first comprehensive global economic assessment of the combined benefits of climate and clean-air action.
The estimated $15 return includes direct market benefits, such as lower health care costs, higher labor productivity and avoided physical damage, as well as the economic value of preventing premature deaths and improving health and quality of life, the report said.
Even when nonmarket health and welfare benefits are excluded, the measures would generate about $4 in benefits for every $1 invested, according to the report.
“In almost any other sector, a benefit-cost ratio of 15 to 1 would attract capital instantly,” Elliott Harris, an independent co-chair of the assessment, said in a statement. “Finance ministries and investors who keep climate and air quality in separate budget lines are leaving trillions on the table.”
The report estimated that delaying action by a single year would forgo more than $1.5 trillion in annual combined market and nonmarket benefits, equivalent to about 0.5% of global GDP.
The Health Toll of Air Pollution
Human-caused outdoor air pollution, including fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 and ozone, was associated with an estimated 6.4 million premature deaths worldwide in 2025, according to the report. Household air pollution was linked to another 2 million premature deaths, including about 300,000 children.
Outdoor air pollution also contributed to an estimated 5.5 million new cases of childhood asthma and 2 million new cases of dementia in 2025, the assessment said. Pollution was also associated with millions of cases of heart attacks, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes, stroke and lung cancer.
By 2050, fully implementing the 25 measures could cumulatively prevent 144 million premature deaths linked to air pollution, including 96 million associated with ambient, or outdoor, air pollution, the report said.
“Clean air is a key driver of development, health, food and energy security, and climate stability — an asset we must invest in,” Inger Andersen, the executive director of UNEP, said in a statement.
Six Sectors Targeted for Change
The proposed actions span six areas: energy and fossil-fuel systems; industry; transportation; agriculture and food systems; household cooking and heating; and waste management.
They include expanding renewable energy and improving energy efficiency; increasing access to clean cooking and heating; strengthening vehicle emissions and fuel-efficiency standards; expanding the use of electric vehicles; reducing methane leaks, flaring and venting from oil and gas operations; improving livestock, fertilizer and rice-production practices; reducing crop-residue burning; improving waste and wastewater management; and phasing down hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.
The report said immediate implementation of the measures could cut global carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2050, reduce methane emissions by 60% and lower major air pollutants — including black carbon, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides — by about 70%, compared with the baseline scenario used in the assessment.
The measures could also prevent about 0.34 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2050 and 1.4 degrees Celsius by 2100, the report projected.
Avoided warming over land in many regions could reach an estimated 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, because land areas generally warm faster than the global average, the report said.
What Stands in the Way
The report identified fragmented government decision-making, limited enforcement capacity and weak coordination as major obstacles to implementation. Those barriers could delay full global implementation by nearly eight years, it said.
Stronger institutions, regulations and fiscal incentives could accelerate the deployment of profitable low-emissions technologies and unlock as much as $10 trillion in additional health benefits by 2040, according to the report.
Simon Dietz, a co-chair of the assessment and a professor of environmental policy at the London School of Economics, said treating climate change and air pollution as separate challenges understates the benefits of addressing either one.
“The same sources, sectors and policies so often drive both,” Mr. Dietz said.
The report urged governments to integrate climate, air-quality, health and economic planning; strengthen enforcement; and better align public and private financing with pollution-reduction measures.