Coordinated action on clean air and climate change can net $15 for every dollar spent

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Tackling air pollution and climate change together can save millions of lives, reduce global warming and generate roughly $15 in economic benefits for every $1 spent, a new UN-backed report has revealed.

The assessment by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) shows how coordinated action can improve public health, strengthen economies and accelerate progress on climate goals through 25 proven measures and policy reforms.

These include using renewable energy, electric vehicles and clean fuel sources for cooking.

Tweet URL

The report finds that combining efforts produces higher returns than addressing climate change and air pollution separately, because many of the same sectors and pollutants drive both crises.

Making the case

“For too long, we have treated climate action as a cost to be managed and air pollution as the unfortunate outcome of development,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. 

“This report shows the opposite: clean air is a key driver of development, health, food and energy security, and climate stability – an asset we must invest in.”

The report – 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, observed annually on 7 September.

“The case for action has never been clearer,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message.

“Reducing air pollution protects health, boosts productivity, and builds more resilient and prosperous societies,” while “accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels is one of the fastest and most effective ways to clean the air while tackling the climate crisis.”

Benefits of investing

The report estimates that annual benefits from implementing the 25 measures would be equivalent to 2.8 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2035, 4.5 per cent in 2050 and 11.4 per cent in 2100.

By comparison, explicit fossil fuel subsidies accounted for 2.18 per cent of global GDP in 2022, while healthcare spending reached 9.3 per cent in 2023.

Even when non-market welfare gains are excluded, such as the value of longer and healthier lives, the measures still return around $4 for every dollar invested.

Elliott Harris, independent co-chair of the assessment, said the findings should change how finance ministries and investors view clean-air policies.

“A benefit-cost ratio of 15 to 1 would attract capital instantly in almost any other sector,” he said. “Every year of delay costs the world more than $1.5 trillion in benefits we will not get back.”

A heavy toll on health

The health stakes are severe. The report estimates that in 2025, exposure to human-caused outdoor air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone, was linked to 6.4 million premature deaths worldwide. 

Household air pollution was linked to a further two million premature deaths, including around 300,000 children. 

The report also examines the wider economic burden of illness.  In 2025, outdoor air pollution contributed to 5.5 million new cases of childhood asthma, two million new cases of dementia and millions of cases of heart attack, pulmonary disease, diabetes, stroke and lung cancer. 

By 2050, full implementation of the 25 measures could cumulatively prevent 144 million air-pollution-related premature deaths, including 96 million from ambient air pollution alone, as well as hundreds of millions of cases of chronic disease.

Rapid returns

The package of measures spans six sectors: energy and fossil fuel systems, industry, transport, agriculture and food systems, residential cooking and heating, and waste management. 

Measures include renewable power, energy efficiency, clean cooking and heating, stronger vehicle emission and efficiency standards, electric vehicles, low-sulfur shipping fuels, reduced oil and gas leaks, improved livestock and manure management, and more efficient fertilizer use. 

Many of these actions would also curb so-called super pollutants, including methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons, which have powerful near-term effects on the climate. 

Immediate benefits

The climate benefits would be substantial. Compared with the report’s baseline scenario, immediate implementation would halve global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, reduce methane emissions by 60 per cent and cut major air pollutants, including black carbon, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, by around 70 per cent. 

The measures would avoid approximately 0.34°C of global warming by 2050 and 1.4°C by the year 2100.

“When we modelled them together, the returns were larger than each could show alone,” said Simon Dietz, co-chair of the assessment and Professor of Environmental Policy at the London School of Economics.

The challenge now is implementation. The report identifies fragmented decision-making, limited enforcement capacity and weak government coordination as major barriers that could delay full action by almost eight years globally. 

It calls for integrated climate, air-quality, health and economic planning, stronger institutions and enforcement, and better alignment of public and private finance.