Counting the costs of climate change: Value of a Statistical Life

The document advocates for incorporating the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) into climate adaptation planning in Canada. It argues that traditional economic accounting often prioritizes tangible property damage over less quantifiable health impacts from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, potentially leading to the undervaluing of life-saving measures. By using VSL—a measure of the economic benefit of reduced mortality based on public willingness to pay—governments can more accurately conduct cost-benefit analyses and develop comprehensive policies that address both human and economic costs.

• Traditional economic accounting in Canada may lead policymakers to prioritize infrastructure and property protection over human health and well-being because the costs of health impacts from wildfire smoke and extreme heat are harder to quantify.
• The Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) is a tool used to assign a monetary value to risks to human life based on the public's willingness to pay to avoid premature death, helping to inform policy decisions on health, safety, and environment.
• International examples demonstrate the utility of VSL, such as European countries using it for heat warning systems and river flooding protection, and the U.S. EPA using it to show that the Clean Air Act's $0.5 trillion compliance cost yielded between $5.1 and $48.9 trillion in net direct benefits.
• While some critics argue that VSL is unethical or biases decisions toward present generations, the document asserts that using an imperfect measure is preferable to having no measure, as it ensures human life is explicitly considered in cost-benefit analyses.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2023). Counting the costs of climate change: Value of a Statistical Life. https://climateinstitute.ca/counting-the-costs-of-climate-change-value-statistical-life/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Counting the costs of climate change: Value of a Statistical Life. 2023. https://climateinstitute.ca/counting-the-costs-of-climate-change-value-statistical-life/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Counting the costs of climate change: Value of a Statistical Life |date=29 June 2023 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/counting-the-costs-of-climate-change-value-statistical-life/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianclimateinstitute2023counting, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Counting the costs of climate change: Value of a Statistical Life}}, publisher = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/counting-the-costs-of-climate-change-value-statistical-life/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }