The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said implementing six climate and health measures could save nearly 1.6 million lives annually and generate trillions of dollars in economic benefits.
The UN agency disclosed this in a report released on Wednesday, days before the COP31 climate change conference begins in Turkey.
The report recommended introducing heat-health warning systems, developing climate-resilient drinking water and sanitation infrastructure, improving hand hygiene, adopting cleaner household energy sources and implementing more efficient fossil fuel pricing.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the climate crisis was also a health emergency, adding that much of its impact could be prevented using existing solutions.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis, but much of the harm it causes can be prevented with tools we already have,” he said.
According to the report, implementing the six proposed measures could deliver what it described as a “triple dividend” of healthier populations, reduced emissions and stronger economies.
It estimated that the interventions could prevent 16.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually while saving lives.
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The measures could also generate up to $5.4 trillion in fiscal benefits each year and contribute nearly $4 trillion to the global economy through lives saved, disaster prevention and reduced healthcare costs.
However, the WHO acknowledged that the projections were based on ambitious scenarios and were subject to data gaps and inherent uncertainties.
Despite these limitations, Tedros said expanding access to proven and affordable interventions could save millions of lives, particularly in countries facing the greatest challenges.
With world leaders expected to attend COP31 in Turkey next week, he urged governments to make health protection a central part of global climate action.
