Climate change and health: a tool to estimate health and adaptation costs

The WHO Regional Office for Europe prepared this economic analysis tool to support adaptation planning to protect health from the negative effects of climate change in European Member States. It is based on a review of the science, and provides step-by-step guidance on estimating:

(a) the costs associated with damage to health due to climate change;

(b) the costs for adaptation in various sectors to protect health from such damage; and

(c) the efficiency of adaptation measures: the cost of adaptation versus the expected returns, or averted health costs.

The tool is expected to be applied in Member States mainly by ministries responsible for climate-change adaptation. It consists of a document describing the methods step-by-step and a manual with an Excel spreadsheet, which is a visual aid for calculating costs.