Nairobi, 07 September 2026 ¨C Every US$1 invested in tackling climate change and air pollution together can generate around US$15 in economic benefits, according to a report published today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). This is higher than tackling climate and clean air separately, and it includes both market and non-market economic gains.
Released on the , is the first comprehensive global economic assessment of integrated climate and clean-air action.
¡°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 ¨C 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 action
The annual economic benefits of implementing 25 measures that this report identified would be equivalent to:
- 2.8 per cent of global GDP in 2035
- 4.5 per cent of global GDP in 2050
- 11.4 per cent of global GDP in 2100
In comparison, 2.18 per cent of global GDP was spent on explicit fossil fuel subsidies in 2022 and 9.3 per cent of global GDP was spent on healthcare in 2023.
Every year of delayed action would forgo more than US$1.5 trillion annually - 0.5 per cent of GDP - in combined market and non-market benefits.
Even excluding non-market welfare benefits, the measures return around US$4 for every US$1 invested.
¡°A benefit-cost ratio of 15 to 1 would attract capital instantly in almost any other sector. The only reason it hasn¡¯t on integrated climate and clean air action yet 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 USD1.5 trillion in benefits we will not get back. 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 ¨C such as lower healthcare expenditure, greater labour productivity, and avoided physical damage ¨C and 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 linked to a further 2 million premature deaths, including around 300,000 children.
Unlike previous assessments, the report factors in the economic effects of air pollution-related illness, including pressure on health services, losses to productivity and 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 cases of heart attack, pulmonary disease, diabetes, stroke and lung cancer.
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