Key facts
- Integrated climate and clean air action can generate up to $15 in benefits for every $1 invested.
- The report identifies 25 solutions across six sectors that address both climate and air pollution challenges.
- Human-caused outdoor air pollution was linked to 6.4 million premature deaths globally in 2025.
- Household air pollution was linked to an additional 2 million premature deaths in 2025, including nearly 300,000 children.
- The cost of implementing these solutions is estimated at 0.7% of global GDP over the next decade.
- Benefits from immediate implementation are projected to reach 4.5% of global GDP by 2050 and 11.4% by 2100.
A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) argues that tackling climate change and air pollution together presents one of the most economically beneficial investments available to governments. The report, titled 'Hidden assets: The economic and health case for climate and clean air action,' is the first to quantify the combined economic value of addressing both crises within a single framework. It finds that pursuing these agendas jointly generates an additional 0.2% of global GDP in economic benefits, as some advantages are only fully realized when both challenges are tackled simultaneously. The assessment considers a broader range of health impacts than traditional analyses, including childhood asthma, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory disease, as well as the effects of heat stress on worker productivity and quality of life. It also identifies specific barriers to integrated action and assigns an economic value to their removal. According to the report, every $1 invested in 25 identified solutions across six sectors can generate around $15 in total benefits, including non-market gains like improved quality of life. Focusing solely on direct market gains, such as lower healthcare costs and higher workforce productivity, the return is still approximately $4 for every $1 invested. This places integrated climate and clean air action among the highest-return public investments. Implementation of these solutions is estimated to cost 0.7% of global GDP over the coming decade, declining to around 0.5% by the end of the century. In comparison, global spending on explicit fossil fuel subsidies was 2.18% of GDP in 2022. If implemented immediately, the benefits are projected to grow from 2.8% of global GDP in 2035 to 4.5% by 2050 and 11.4% by 2100, with an internal rate of return of 60%. Market benefits alone are expected to exceed implementation costs within 10 years. The substantial benefits stem from the significant health toll of air pollution, which is greater than many economic analyses have recognized, and the relatively quick materialization of returns on action. In 2025, human-caused outdoor fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone are estimated to have caused 6.4 million premature deaths worldwide, with household air pollution contributing another 2 million deaths, including nearly 300,000 children. PM2.5 exposure is also linked to an estimated 5.5 million new cases of various illnesses.