Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change

Climate change is increasingly recognized not only as an environmental and economic threat but as one of the defining health challenges of the coming decades. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, more frequent and severe extreme weather events, and disruptions to food and water systems are driving growing health burdens across virtually every region yet the economic costs of these health impacts, and the investments required to build resilience against them, remain poorly quantified in most national planning frameworks. This BCG and World Economic Forum report addresses that gap, providing the first comprehensive global estimate of the economic costs of climate-driven health impacts.

The report estimates that climate change could generate up to $1.5 trillion in lost productivity by 2050 through its health impacts, operating across three primary pathways: the direct effects of heat stress and extreme weather on human physiology and work capacity; the health consequences of disrupted food systems and increased food insecurity; and the strain placed on health systems by rising disease burdens from climate-sensitive conditions including vector-borne diseases, respiratory illness, and malnutrition. The analysis spans multiple sectors and geographies, finding that the greatest burdens fall disproportionately on low- and middle-income countries and on outdoor and informal workers.

A framework for building economic resilience to climate-driven health impacts is organized around three domains: protecting people through public health adaptation measures including heat action plans, early warning systems, and vector control programs; strengthening health systems to manage rising climate-attributable burdens; and reforming food, built environment, and energy systems to reduce exposure at population scale. Investments in resilience generate significant positive economic returns, with strong co-benefits across sectors.

For health policymakers, finance ministries, and businesses operating in climate-vulnerable environments, the report makes a clear and quantified case for treating climate-driven health impacts as a core economic risk requiring proactive management and for integrating health outcomes into climate adaptation investment planning at national and subnational levels.