Investment in climate action, particularly measures that improve air quality, offers enormous economic potential, with every US$ 1 invested capable of generating returns of up to US$ 15, according to a United Nations report released on the occasion of the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. The report highlights that integrated climate and clean-air initiatives not only reduce emissions and improve public health but also deliver substantial economic gains through lower healthcare costs, higher productivity, enhanced energy security and reduced climate-related damage.
The first comprehensive global economic assessment of integrated climate and clean-air action, titled Hidden Assets: The Economic and Health Case for Climate and Clean Air Action, was released jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). The report states that every US$ 1 invested in tackling climate change and air pollution together can generate around US$ 15 in economic benefits—significantly higher than addressing climate change and air pollution separately—as it captures both market and non-market economic gains.
The report further states: “For too long, we have treated climate action as a cost to be managed and air pollution as the unfortunate outcome of development. 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,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Proven solutions already exist. What we lack is the decisive leadership from governments, financial institutions and businesses to deliver them with the speed and coordination this crisis demands.”
The economic value of actionThe UNEP–CCAC report estimates that implementing 25 integrated climate and clean-air measures could generate annual economic benefits equivalent to 2.8 percent of global GDP by 2035, rising to 4.5 percent by 2050 and 11.4 percent by 2100. The projected gains exceed the scale of many major public expenditures, highlighting the economic value of investments that simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. In comparison, 2.18 percent of global GDP was spent on explicit fossil fuel subsidies in 2022, while 9.3 percent of global GDP was spent on healthcare in 2023.
The report also warns that delaying action carries a steep financial cost. Every year of inaction would forfeit more than US$ 1.5 trillion in annual market and non-market economic benefits, equivalent to about 0.5 percent of global GDP. Even when broader welfare gains are excluded, the proposed measures still deliver an average return of around US$ 4 for every US$ 1 invested, making them a compelling economic as well as environmental investment.
“A benefit-cost ratio of 15 to 1 would attract capital instantly in almost any other sector. The only reason it hasn’t for integrated climate and clean-air action is that the returns are split across health systems, productivity and avoided climate damage rather than landing on a single balance sheet. Every year of delay costs the world more than US$ 1.5 trillion in benefits we will never recover. Finance ministries and investors who keep climate and air quality in separate budget lines are leaving trillions on the table,” said Elliott Harris, independent co-chair of the Assessment.
The human cost of air pollution The US$ 15 return includes measurable market benefits—such as lower healthcare expenditure, higher labour productivity and avoided physical damage—as well as the monetary value of fewer premature deaths and healthier lives. In 2025, exposure to human-caused outdoor air pollution (PM2.5 and ozone) was linked to an estimated 6.4 million premature deaths worldwide. Household air pollution was responsible for a further 2 million premature deaths, including around 300,000 children.
Unlike previous assessments, the report also accounts for the economic impact of air pollution-related illnesses, including increased pressure on healthcare systems and losses in productivity and overall well-being. In 2025, outdoor air pollution contributed to 5.5 million new cases of childhood asthma, 2 million new cases of dementia, and millions of additional cases of heart attacks, pulmonary disease, diabetes, stroke and lung cancer.
A package of 25 proven measuresThe package of measures examined in the report spans six sectors—energy and fossil fuel systems, industry, transport, agriculture and food systems, residential cooking and heating, and waste management—and combines long-term decarbonisation measures with measures targeting super-pollutants such as methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
The measures include renewable power and energy efficiency, expanded clean cooking and heating solutions, tighter vehicle emission and efficiency standards, inspection and maintenance programmes, electric vehicles and low-sulfur shipping fuels, recovery of associated gas to end routine venting and flaring and reduce oil and gas leaks, livestock and manure management, more efficient fertiliser use, improved rice cultivation and alternatives to crop residue burning, better solid waste and wastewater management, and the phasing down of HFCs.
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. Many of these measures could deliver domestic health and economic benefits within a single term of government.
Air quality and climate gains Compared with the report’s baseline scenario, immediate implementation of the measures would halve global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, reduce methane emissions by 60 percent, and cut major air pollutants—including black carbon, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides—by around 70 percent.
The measures would avoid approximately 0.34°C of global warming by 2050 and 1.4°C by 2100. Because land temperatures rise faster than the global average, the avoided warming in most regions would be greater, reaching an estimated 1.5–2°C by 2100. By the end of the century, carbon dioxide emissions under the scenario would be net negative, while major air pollutants would decline by up to 85 percent. The economic value of cleaner air would materialise quickly enough to outweigh implementation costs within a decade and would continue to account for almost half of the total economic benefits in 2100, according to the report.
“This report provides the most rigorous evidence yet that treating climate change and air pollution as separate problems causes us to underestimate the benefits of tackling either. When we modelled them together, the returns were larger than each could show alone because the same sources, sectors and policies so often drive both,” said Simon Dietz, Co-Chair of the Assessment and Professor of Environmental Policy at the London School of Economics.
Closing the implementation gapThe report identifies institutional weaknesses—such as fragmented policymaking, limited enforcement capacity and poor coordination among government agencies—as the biggest obstacles to implementing integrated climate and clean-air measures. Collectively, these barriers could delay full global implementation by nearly eight years, slowing progress towards emissions reductions and public health goals.
According to the UN assessment, strengthening fiscal incentives, improving regulations and enabling private-sector investment in low-emission technologies could significantly accelerate deployment. Such reforms have the potential to unlock up to US$ 10 trillion in additional health benefits by 2040, prompting the report to call for integrated planning across climate, air quality, health and economic sectors, supported by stronger institutions and better alignment of public and private finance.
DILIP KUMAR JHA
Editor
dilip.jha@polymerupdate.com
