A new assessment by the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme (UNEP) and Climate and Clean Air Coalition examined 25 measures across energy, industry, transport, agriculture, household cooking and waste management.
The report, Hidden assets: The economic and health case for climate and clean air action, was released for the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies on September 7.
Measures include renewable energy, electric vehicles, clean cooking fuels, energy efficiency, stronger vehicle emission standards, low-sulphur shipping fuels and reduced oil and gas leaks. “For too long, we have treated climate action as a cost to be managed and air pollution as the unfortunate outcome of development,” UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said.
“This report shows the opposite: clean air is a key driver of development, health, food and energy security, and climate stability.”
Annual benefits could equal 2.8% of global gross domestic product by 2035, rising to 4.5% by 2050 and 11.4% by 2100.
Even without calculating the economic value of longer and healthier lives, the measures could return about $4 for every $1 invested. “Every year of delay costs the world more than $1.5 trillion in benefits we will not get back,” Assessment Independent Co-Chair Elliott Harris said.
Human-caused outdoor air pollution was linked to 6.4 million premature deaths in 2025. Household air pollution contributed to another 2 million deaths, including about 300 000 children.
Outdoor pollution also contributed to 5.5 million new childhood asthma cases and 2 million new dementia cases during 2025.
Full implementation of the measures could prevent 144 million premature deaths linked to air pollution by 2050, alongside hundreds of millions of chronic disease cases.
Immediate action could halve global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, cut methane emissions by 60% and reduce major air pollutants by about 70%.
The proposed measures could prevent about 0.34°C of global warming by 2050 and 1.4°C by 2100.
However, fragmented decision-making, weak enforcement and limited government coordination could delay full implementation by almost eight years. The report called for integrated climate, health, air-quality and economic planning supported by stronger institutions and better-aligned financing.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
