Economic evidence on the health impacts of climate change in europe

More than a feeling: A global economic valuation of subjective wellbeing damages resulting from rising temperatures

When estimating economic and welfare effects from climate change, impact models must make broad assumptions because of a lack of data and the complexity of damage mechanisms. In this paper, we apply a novel approach to try and address this issue. We use an experienced utility approach to measure how extreme heat affects subjective wellbeing. The data comes from a life evaluation question collected on nationally representative surveys covering 160 countries, conducted annually for 13 years. We take advantage of 40 years of variation in daily land surface temperature data, finding that one additional exceptionally hot day significantly lowers wellbeing, by roughly 0.5% on average. This is equivalent to the wellbeing loss resulting from GDP decreasing by several percentage points. The effect size varies substantially between, and within, countries, highlighting the importance of having local data. Further, we analyze the source of wellbeing damages, by looking at income and non-income pathways. Suprisingly, we find that income pathways accounts for only a small proportion of wellbeing damages caused by extreme temperatures. This indicates current models that focus on income pathways are likely missing sources of climate-caused damages.

Building health systems resilience: understanding the social, economic, and cultural impacts of climate change from stakeholders' perspectives in Indonesia

OBJECTIVES

This study explores stakeholders' perspectives on the direct, social, economic, and cultural impacts of climate change on health in Indonesia and identifies possible strategies to enhance health system resilience.

METHODS

This study followed the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines to ensure comprehensive and transparent reporting. Purposive sampling was used to select 22 stakeholders with relevant expertise, including government officials, representatives from international and professional health organizations, health workers, and community representatives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed using directed content analysis. Data saturation was reached when no new themes emerged.

RESULTS

The findings reveal significant challenges to Indonesia's health system due to climate change. Community awareness varies widely, with higher levels in disaster-prone areas. Socially, climate change has fostered community cooperation through collective adaptation efforts but has also led to tensions due to inequitable resource distribution. Economically, rising healthcare costs and financial instability, particularly in rural and disaster-prone regions, place a strain on the system. Culturally, there is a growing emphasis on environmental conservation, promoting eco-friendly practices and the integration of traditional and modern health approaches.

CONCLUSION

Building health system resilience in Indonesia requires addressing the social, economic, and cultural impacts of climate change. Possible strategies include enhancing public health education, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, improving inter-agency coordination, and leveraging technology to support effective responses to climate-related health threats, ultimately promoting national health, social stability, and economic growth.

The interplay between climate change and ageing: A systematic review of health indicators

Climate change and rapid population ageing pose challenges for communities and public policies. This systematic review aims to gather data from studies that present health indicators establishing the connection between climate change and the physical and mental health of the older population (≥ 65 years), who experience a heightened vulnerability to the impacts of climate change when compared to other age cohorts. This review was conducted according to the PICO strategy and following Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines. Three databases (PubMed, Scopus and Greenfile) were searched for articles from 2015 to 2022. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria,nineteen studies were included. The findings indicated that various climate change phenomena are associated with an elevated risk of mortality and morbidity outcomes in older adults. These included cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and mental diseases, along with physical injuries. Notably, the impact of climate change was influenced by gender, socioeconomic status, education level, and age-vulnerability factors. Climate change directly affected the health of older adults through ambient temperature variability, extreme and abnormal temperatures, strong winds, sea temperature variability, extreme El Niño-southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions and droughts, and indirectly by air pollution resulting from wildfires. This review presents further evidence confirming that climate change significantly impacts the health and well-being of older adults. It highlights the urgency for implementing effective strategies to facilitate adaptation and mitigation, enhancing the overall quality of life for all individuals.

Health effects from heat waves in France: an economic evaluation

BACKGROUND

Scarcity of data on the health impacts and associated economic costs of heat waves may limit the will to invest in adaptation measures. We assessed the economic impact associated with mortality, morbidity, and loss of well-being during heat waves in France between 2015 and 2019.

METHODS

Health indicators monitored by the French national heat wave plan were used to estimate excess visits to emergency rooms and outpatient clinics and hospitalizations for heat-related causes. Total excess mortality and years of life loss were considered, as well as the size of the population that experienced restricted activity. A cost-of-illness and willingness-to-pay approach was used to account for associated costs.

RESULTS

Between 2015 and 2019, the economic impact of selected health effects of heat waves amounts to €25.5 billion, mainly in mortality (€23.2 billion), minor restricted activity days (€2.3 billion), and morbidity (€0.031 billion).

CONCLUSION

The results highlight a significant economic burden on the French health system and the population. A better understanding of the economic impacts of climate change on health is required to alert decision-makers to the urgency of mitigation and to support concrete adaptation actions.

Estimating The Costs Of Inaction And The Economic Benefits Of Addressing The Health Harms Of Climate Change

National and international assessments have drawn attention to the substantial economic risks of climate change. The costs of climate-sensitive health outcomes responsive to meteorological or seasonal patterns are among the least studied of those risks. In this article we describe how cost valuation analyses that relate climate-sensitive health outcomes to damages in economic terms can illuminate the costs of inaction on the climate crisis and the economic savings of addressing this problem. We identify major challenges to expanding the application of climate-health valuation research and suggest solutions to overcome these obstacles to better characterize the burden of climate-sensitive health outcomes and health disparities. The projected health and economic harms of climate-sensitive risks could be enormous if climate change continues to accelerate and communities are not prepared to reduce or prevent their impact. Expanded valuation of climate-sensitive health outcomes can inform policies that slow climate change and promote stronger investments in health-protective climate change adaptation efforts.

Integrating Public Health into Climate Change Policy and Planning: State of Practice Update

Policy action in the coming decade will be crucial to achieving globally agreed upon goals to decarbonize the economy and build resilience to a warmer, more extreme climate. Public health has an essential role in climate planning and action: “Co-benefits” to health help underpin greenhouse gas reduction strategies, while safeguarding health—particularly of the most vulnerable—is a frontline local adaptation goal. Using the structure of the core functions and essential services (CFES), we reviewed the literature documenting the evolution of public health’s role in climate change action since the 2009 launch of the US CDC Climate and Health Program. We found that the public health response to climate change has been promising in the area of assessment (monitoring climate hazards, diagnosing health status, assessing vulnerability); mixed in the area of policy development (mobilizing partnerships, mitigation and adaptation activities); and relatively weak in assurance (communication, workforce development and evaluation). We suggest that the CFES model remains important, but is not aligned with three concepts—governance, implementation and adjustment—that have taken on increasing importance. Adding these concepts to the model can help ensure that public health fulfills its potential as a proactive partner fully integrated into climate policy planning and action in the coming decade.

Estimating the Health-Related Costs of 10 Climate-Sensitive U.S. Events During 2012

Climate change threatens human health, but there remains a lack of evidence on the economic toll of climate-sensitive public health impacts. We characterize human mortality and morbidity costs associated with 10 climate-sensitive case study events spanning 11 US states in 2012: wildfires in Colorado and Washington, ozone air pollution in Nevada, extreme heat in Wisconsin, infectious disease outbreaks of tick-borne Lyme disease in Michigan and mosquito-borne West Nile virus in Texas, extreme weather in Ohio, impacts of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York, allergenic oak pollen in North Carolina, and harmful algal blooms on the Florida coast. Applying a consistent economic valuation approach to published studies and state estimates, we estimate total health-related costs from 917 deaths, 20,568 hospitalizations, and 17,857 emergency department visits of $10.0 billion in 2018 dollars, with a sensitivity range of $2.7-24.6 billion. Our estimates indicate that the financial burden of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and associated medical care is a key dimension of the overall economic impact of climate-sensitive events. We found that mortality costs (i.e., the value of a statistical life) of $8.4 billion exceeded morbidity costs and lost wages ($1.6 billion combined). By better characterizing health damages in economic terms, this work helps to shed light on the burden climate-sensitive events already place on U.S. public health each year. In doing so, we provide a conceptual framework for broader estimation of climate-sensitive health-related costs. The high health-related costs associated with climate-sensitive events highlight the importance of actions to mitigate climate change and adapt to its unavoidable impacts.

Priorities for protecting health from climate change in the WHO European Region: recent regional activities

Evidence of the impact of climate change on health is growing. Health systems need to be prepared and gradually adapt to the effects of climate change, including extreme weather events.Fossil fuel combustion as the driver of climate change poses a tremendous burden of disease. In turn, cutting greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors will achieve health co-benefits. If all countries meet the Paris Agreement by 2030, the annual number of avoidable premature deaths could total 138,000 across the entire European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO).Several international frameworks promote a stronger commitment by countries to implementing the necessary adaptations in the health sector and to addressing health considerations in adaptation measures in other sectors. The WHO has a mandate from its member states to identify solutions and help prevent or reduce health impacts, including those from climate change.National governments are continuing to establish public health adaptation measures, which provide a rationale for and trigger action on climate change by the health community. Effective national responses to climate risks require strategic analyses of current and anticipated threats. Health professionals need to play a proactive role in promoting health arguments and evidence in the formulation of national climate change adaptation and mitigation responses. To this end, country capacities need to be further strengthened to identify and address local health risks posed by climate change and to develop, implement and evaluate health-focused interventions through integrated approaches. Building climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities is an essential pillar of health sector leadership to address climate change.

Urban air pollution and climate change: "The Decalogue: Allergy Safe Tree" for allergic and respiratory diseases care

BACKGROUND

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is closely associated with climate change and, in particular, with global warming. In addition to melting of ice and snow, rising sea level, and flooding of coastal areas, global warming is leading to a tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems. Moreover, the effects of air pollution on airway and lung diseases are well documented as reported by the World Allergy Organization.

METHODS

Scientific literature was searched for studies investigating the effect of the interaction between air pollution and climate change on allergic and respiratory diseases.

RESULTS

Since 1990s, a multitude of articles and reviews have been published on this topic, with many studies confirming that the warming of our planet is caused by the "greenhouse effect" as a result of increased emission of "greenhouse" gases. Air pollution is also closely linked to global warming: the emission of hydrocarbon combustion products leads to increased concentrations of biological allergens such as pollens, generating a mixture of these particles called particulate matter (PM). The concept is that global warming is linked to the emission of hydrocarbon combustion products, since both carbon dioxide and heat increase pollen emission into the atmosphere, and all these particles make up PM10. However, the understanding of the mechanisms by which PM affects human health is still limited. Therefore, several studies are trying to determine the causes of global warming. There is also evidence that increased concentrations of air pollutants and pollens can activate inflammatory mediators in the airways. Our Task Force has prepared a Decalogue of rules addressing public administrators, which aims to limit the amount of allergenic pollen in the air without sacrificing public green areas.

CONCLUSIONS

Several studies underscore the significant risks of global warming on human health due to increasing levels of air pollution. The impact of climate change on respiratory diseases appears well documented. The last decades have seen a rise in the concentrations of pollens and pollutants in the air. This rise parallels the increase in the number of people presenting with allergic symptoms (e.g., allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma), who often require emergency medical care. Our hope is that scientists from different disciplines will work together with institutions, pharmaceutical companies and lay organizations to limit the adverse health effects of air pollution and global warming.

Multiple Threats to Child Health from Fossil Fuel Combustion: Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Change

BACKGROUND

Approaches to estimating and addressing the risk to children from fossil fuel combustion have been fragmented, tending to focus either on the toxic air emissions or on climate change. Yet developing children, and especially poor children, now bear a disproportionate burden of disease from both environmental pollution and climate change due to fossil fuel combustion.

OBJECTIVE

This commentary summarizes the robust scientific evidence regarding the multiple current and projected health impacts of fossil fuel combustion on the young to make the case for a holistic, child-centered energy and climate policy that addresses the full array of physical and psychosocial stressors resulting from fossil fuel pollution.

DISCUSSION

The data summarized here show that by sharply reducing our dependence on fossil fuels we would achieve highly significant health and economic benefits for our children and their future. These benefits would occur immediately and also play out over the life course and potentially across generations.

CONCLUSION

Going beyond the powerful scientific and economic arguments for urgent action to reduce the burning of fossil fuels is the strong moral imperative to protect our most vulnerable populations. Citation: Perera FP. 2017. Multiple threats to child health from fossil fuel combustion: impacts of air pollution and climate change. Environ Health Perspect 125:141-148; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP299.