PTI
New Delhi
Climate-related health risks can cost the global economy at least USD 1.5 trillion (over Rs 131 lakh crore) in lost productivity in the next 25 years due to rising illness and labour shortages across key sectors, a new study showed
on Thursday.
The World Economic Forum report, developed in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, assessed climate-driven health impacts in four of the most affected economic sectors: food and agriculture; the built environment; health and healthcare;
and insurance.
The USD 1.5 trillion estimate reflects losses in only the first three sectors, under a mid-range scenario, suggesting the burden on the global economy could be far higher, it said.
The study encourages companies to act now to protect workforce health, build operational resilience and safeguard productivity before the costs of climate adaptation become unmanageable.
The findings highlighted that adapting to extreme heat, infectious diseases and other health risks accelerating due to climate change is now a strategic business imperative.
“We are entering an era in which protecting worker health is proving essential to business continuity and long-term resilience,” said Eric White, Head of Climate Resilience,
World Economic Forum.
“Every year we delay embedding resilience into business decisions, the risks to human health and productivity climb and the costs of adaptation rise,” White added.
Alongside shared disruptions, the analysis also outlined sector-specific vulnerabilities. In food and agriculture, climate health impacts could lead to USD 740 billion in lost output, triggering serious consequences for global food security, according to the WEF, a Geneva-based international organisation for public-private partnership.
In the built environment sector, climate health impacts are projected to result in productivity losses of USD 570 billion.
The health and healthcare sector stands to lose USD 200 billion in productivity due to workforce climate health issues.
