Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century

The document outlines the severe health threats posed by climate change, including increased mortality from heatwaves, air pollution, and infectious diseases, while highlighting the 'triple win' of improving public health, creating a sustainable economy, and protecting the environment through aggressive mitigation and adaptation.

• Climate change and biodiversity loss are identified as the primary global health threats of the 21st century. Direct impacts are projected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually between 2030 and 2050, with health costs reaching USD 2-4 billion per year by 2030. Without mitigation and adaptation, this could escalate to 24 million deaths per year.
• Extreme heat is increasing in frequency and intensity, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, and low-income communities. By 2050, 350 million more people could be exposed to heat stress in megacities like Lagos and Shanghai if warming is limited to 1.5°C; at 2°C, this figure could reach one billion people.
• Air pollution, often sharing causes with climate change such as fossil fuel combustion, causes nearly seven million deaths annually. Meeting the Paris Agreement goals could save over one million lives per year by 2050 from air pollution alone. In the US, minority communities bear a disproportionate burden, with over 72% of African Americans living in areas violating federal air pollution standards.
• Climate change is expanding the suitability for infectious disease transmission. Between 2015-2019, climate suitability for malaria increased by 39% in Africa and 150% in the Western Pacific compared to the 1950s. Under high emission scenarios, an additional 4.7 billion people could be at risk of exposure to malaria and dengue fever by 2080.
• Global food systems are under threat, with climate change reducing agricultural productivity by 21% since 1961. By 2050, 80 million more people could face hunger, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. A 2°C warming scenario could result in 20-40 million more undernourished people by the end of the century compared to a 1.5°C scenario.
• Aggressive climate mitigation can yield massive economic and health savings that offset implementation costs. Limiting warming to 1.5°C could result in a global net economic saving of USD 145 trillion. Specifically, China and India could see net benefits of up to USD 2.3 trillion and 8.4 trillion, respectively.

APA

Global Climate and Health Alliance (2023). Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GCHA-ClimateHealth-Briefing-May-2023.pdf

Chicago

Global Climate and Health Alliance. Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century. 2023. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GCHA-ClimateHealth-Briefing-May-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Climate and Health Alliance |title=Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century |date=May 2023 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GCHA-ClimateHealth-Briefing-May-2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalclimateandhealthalliance2023tackling, author = {{Global Climate and Health Alliance}}, title = {{Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GCHA-ClimateHealth-Briefing-May-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }