The World Health Organization has put figures on six climate and health measures as COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye, with health on the first day’s agenda. In a technical report released on November 4, 2026, WHO estimates that scaling up the six actions could prevent 1.6 million deaths a year, about one in every 40 deaths. The numbers are modelled estimates. They matter to business because two of the actions, fossil fuel pricing and cleaner household fuels, touch energy markets directly, and others drive demand for water, sanitation and early-warning infrastructure.
The six actions and their estimated returns
The report covers these measures:
- Heat-health warning systems
- Climate-resilient drinking-water services
- Basic sanitation services
- Hygiene and handwashing facilities
- Cleaner household fuels and technologies for cooking and heating
- Efficient fossil fuel pricing, including removing inefficient subsidies and taxing these fuels appropriately
If the actions were scaled up, WHO estimates annual gains of 16.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide avoided, equal to 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions excluding land use, land-use change and forestry. It also estimates US$3.9 trillion in economic welfare benefits and US$5.4 trillion in fiscal benefits each year.
Across five of the six actions, WHO estimates that each US$1 invested yields about US$24 in benefits, with larger returns in low- and middle-income countries. Heat-health warning systems show the highest ratio, at an estimated US$835 per US$1 invested. Efficient fossil fuel pricing accounts for the largest absolute gains: 1.2 million deaths prevented, US$3 trillion in welfare benefits and US$5.4 trillion in fiscal benefits.
WHO modelled the period from 2024 to 2075, comparing scale-up scenarios with scenarios without scale-up. It lists limitations including aspirational scale-up assumptions, partly non-synergistic modelling, limited evidence bases and uncertainty in long-term projections. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The climate crisis is a health crisis, but much of the harm it causes can be prevented with tools we already have.”
Health on the COP31 agenda
The official COP31 program lists November 9 as the thematic day for food, agriculture and health. According to WHO, the COP31 Presidency developed a Health Day for that date with WHO support, including four high-level panels and a ministerial roundtable on resilient and dynamic health systems.
WHO says the Presidency is launching the Antalya Initiative for Health Resilience, a voluntary, non-binding initiative for sharing knowledge and case studies on health resilience. WHO says the work will continue after COP31 through the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health. WHO plans more than 60 events at its Health Pavilion from November 9 to 20, and is calling on countries to implement the Belém Health Action Plan adopted at COP30.
Dr Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, who leads WHO’s work on climate change, energy and air quality, said: “COP31 is an opportunity to back this momentum with the finance and the political will to deliver.”
For companies in energy, utilities, water, construction and insurance, the report offers a reference point for how health ministries and development lenders may frame climate investment. Any commitments in Antalya would come through voluntary initiatives rather than negotiated decisions.
Sources
- WHO: Six climate and health actions could save 1.6 million lives and deliver trillions in benefits each year, November 4, 2026
- WHO: Global benefits and costs of prioritized actions on climate change and health, technical report
- WHO: WHO at COP31, Health Day opens two weeks of activities, November 6, 2026
- COP31 Presidency: Thematic days
- UNFCCC: About COP31
