An investment of $65 billion over the next five to eight years would enable real gains to be made in treatments and healthcare. The amount, which is based on historical R&D costs for comparable solutions, represents a strategic step change in prioritizing medical conditions that will be impacted by climate change. Investing $65 billion could lead to savings of $253 billion in cumulative healthcare spending by 2050, easing the financial strain on patients, insurance providers, public health budgets and healthcare professionals. The anticipated decrease in the number of new cases and severity of health outcomes will result in fewer productive days lost due to illness and premature mortality. Such a reduction would have a substantial indirect economic impact, potentially preventing $5.6 trillion in GDP productivity losses cumulatively by 2050. Considering these factors, the R&D costs associated with developing new solutions could yield returns of up to four times in terms of avoided healthcare costs and up to 90 times in terms of total economic loss avoidance by 2050. When compared with alternative investment opportunities, the potential savings in preventable healthcare costs alone is in line with average returns on investments in climate action. By 2050, new interventions could potentially save up to one billion DALYs at an average R&D cost of $65 per prevented DALY. By comparison, the cost of averted DALYs for most health systems is estimated to range from $1,000 to $70,000,63 depending on a country’s human development index. From this perspective, investing in R&D to mitigate the health impacts of climate change represents a cost-effective and ethical approach.3.2 Level of investment needed and estimated returns Investing $65 billion over the next five to eight years could lead to savings of $253 billion in cumulative healthcare spending by 2050. While the return on investment from innovation is clear for health systems, the same does not automatically apply to private-sector life science innovators. The life sciences industry has deep roots in serving global society. It invests regularly in health equity and access to medicines. For example, some companies offer screening64 and disease awareness programmes and health education65 to facilitate disease prevention. Examples of efforts to improve healthcare access include providing medication donations66 during disasters, partnering to improve distribution of treatments in Sub-Saharan Africa,67 adopting tiered and capped68 pricing models and funding mobile69 healthcare clinics to improve healthcare access. However despite these important philanthropic investments, funding in R&D for climate-driven diseases remains insufficient. The main roadblocks limiting investment today include uncertain market demand, unclear return on investment and fragmented regulatory policies and incentives. In addition, life sciences innovators face the complexity of climate health data integration, a lack of collaboration between climate and health scientists, cultural resistance to a new climate focus and low public and political awareness of the impact of climate on health. Actions to eliminate or at least reduce these roadblocks to investment include the following: –Creation of innovative funding mechanisms and business models to unlock R&D investments in climate-driven health problems. –Collaboration between life sciences innovators and governmental organizations to improve harmonization of global policies and incentives. –Investment in climate-health data platforms that predict disease patterns and outcomes to foster cross-sector collaborations and align company commitments. –Joint efforts between industry and government to increase public awareness through media and community-focused campaigns.3.3 Overcoming roadblocks that hinder development of new climate and health solutions The main roadblocks limiting investment today include uncertain market demand, unclear return on investment and fragmented regulatory policies and incentives. Healthcare in a Changing Climate: Investing in Resilient Solutions 22

Healthcare in a Changing Climate 2025