Health Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence Landscape and Role of Private Sector

The report analyzes how four manifestations of climate change—extreme weather, air quality, food and water risks, and infectious agents—impact public health. It identifies 195 high-impact intersections and 22 priority topics, categorizing them as 'hot' (well-researched) or 'lagging' (under-researched). The analysis highlights a critical lack of actionable guidance for extreme weather and a geographical research gap in Africa and South America. It proposes six thematic intervention areas for private sector engagement: early warning systems, healthcare access, infrastructure resilience, agricultural resilience, financial risk management, and scientific research.

• Climate change manifests through four primary channels: extreme weather, air quality, food and water risks, and infectious agents. Among these, food and water risks have the most extensive direct health impact, while extreme weather and infectious agents cause the most extensive indirect health impacts.
• There is a significant disparity between the severity of health impacts and the availability of actionable guidance. Extreme weather has the highest overall health impact but the lowest percentage of actionable guidance at 35%, compared to 40-60% for other manifestations.
• Global research on climate-health intersections is geographically skewed toward Asia and North America, leaving a critical evidence gap in South America and Africa, despite these regions facing high climate risks.
• The report identifies 22 priority topics across 10 health areas. 'Lagging topics'—those with high impact but low actionable evidence—include pregnancy, displacement and migration, and health system and infrastructure disruption.
• Vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, and low-income communities, bear a disproportionate burden. In particular, air pollution is linked to approximately 20% of newborn deaths.
• The analysis identifies six critical thematic areas for private sector intervention to address systemic drivers of climate-related health issues: early warning systems, healthcare access expansion and equity, critical infrastructure and supply chain resilience, agricultural resilience, access to financial risk management, and scientific research.
• Early warning systems (EWS) are identified as a primary tool for saving lives, but coverage is low in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa. The private sector can enhance EWS through AI and digital platforms for better forecasting and risk communication.
• Agricultural resilience is critical because agriculture employs 59% of the global rural population, and smallholder farmers—who provide one-third of the global food supply—lack the resources to adapt to shifting climatic patterns.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Health Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence Landscape and Role of Private Sector. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Health_Impacts_of_Climate_Change_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Health Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence Landscape and Role of Private Sector. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Health_Impacts_of_Climate_Change_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Health Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence Landscape and Role of Private Sector |date=June 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Health_Impacts_of_Climate_Change_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024health, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Health Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence Landscape and Role of Private Sector}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Health_Impacts_of_Climate_Change_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }