Climate-driven health risks may cost $1.5tn to global economy

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.

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Climate-related health risks can cost the global economy at least $1.5 trillion (over ₹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 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 $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.