WHO says six climate and health measures could save 1.6 million lives a year

Six measures and their health payoff

The World Health Organization published a new report on Wednesday 4 November showing that six measures could prevent about 1.56 million deaths each year if they were rolled out worldwide. The same figure also appears as 1.6 million. The package covers early warning systems for heat-related health risks, climate-resilient drinking water supplies, basic sanitation, hand hygiene, cleaner fuels for cooking and home heating, and efficient pricing of fossil fuels. The WHO released the study days before COP31, the UN climate summit that opens in Antalya, Turkey, on 9 November. The agency calls the gains a triple dividend of healthier people, lower emissions and stronger economies.

Emissions and economic gains

The report estimates that the six measures together could avoid 16.7 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions a year, equal to 31% of annual greenhouse gas emissions excluding land use and forestry. Economic wellbeing gains, which count the value of saved lives, avoided disasters and lower care costs, are put at about $3.9 trillion a year. Governments could also gain up to $5.44 trillion annually in additional fiscal revenue. The projections cover 187 countries over the period 2024 to 2075. Fossil fuel pricing carries most of the weight: on its own it would account for 1.2 million of the avoided deaths and 98% of the avoided emissions each year. For five of the six measures, the WHO estimates that every dollar invested returns about $24 in benefits. Heat warning systems have the best ratio of all, reported as 836 dollars per dollar invested in one account and 835 in another.

Economic wellbeing gains3.9

Additional fiscal revenue5.44

Economic wellbeing gains

3.9 USD trillion

Additional fiscal revenue

5.44 USD trillion

Data from the article text

Costs and investment

The WHO's calculations put the net economic gain from investing in heat warning systems, water infrastructure and the switch away from unhealthy wood and coal stoves at about $844 billion a year. The estimated annual cost of those measures is $35 billion. Ending fossil fuel subsidies and taxing oil, gas and coal appropriately would, according to the same calculations, bring 5.44 trillion dollars (4.86 trillion euros) a year into state budgets. Taxing carbon-intensive energy would add a further three trillion dollars in positive effects, through lower health and environmental damage.

How the measures work on the ground

Frank Pega, the WHO official who presented the report, said basic sanitation is highly exposed to climate hazards and pointed to rising risks from floods, storms and drought. Strengthening that infrastructure could reduce illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, he said. He described the investment as one of the largest health opportunities of the 21st century, with returns few other initiatives could match. The report describes heat alert systems as a way to anticipate dangerous temperatures and trigger effective prevention for vulnerable groups and outdoor workers. Clean household energy aims to cut indoor air pollution and the health problems linked to it. Fossil fuel pricing would involve phasing out subsidies on oil, gas and coal and applying taxes that better reflect their use. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the climate crisis is a health crisis and that much of the damage it causes can be avoided with tools already available.

Next steps

COP31 opens in Antalya on 9 November, and governments are expected to present their climate commitments there. Tedros urged that protecting health should hold a central place in the talks. The WHO says the benefits would be greatest in low and middle-income countries, which it argues would help narrow health and economic inequalities. The figures are the organization's projections rather than measured outcomes.