Climate 2015, 3(3), 522-541; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli3030522
The Economics of Health Damage and Adaptation to Climate Change in Europe: A Review of the Conventional and Grey Literature
WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, 53113 Bonn, Germany
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Academic Editor: Alessandro Pezzoli
Received: 13 April 2015 / Revised: 1 July 2015 / Accepted: 7 July 2015 / Published: 14 July 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Impacts on Health)
Abstract
Economic evidence is a key component of public policy responses to complex societal and health problems, including climate change. Activities to protect human health from climate change should routinely be evaluated not only in terms of their effectiveness or unintended consequences, but also in terms of the health damage cost of inaction, the cost of health adaptation, and the monetized benefits of different alternatives. In this paper we reviewed the economic evidence on the health impacts of climate change and health-relevant adaptation within the 53 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region, including grey literature and conventional scientific literature. We found that the evidence base on the health economics of climate change is scarce, incomplete and inconsistent. Despite these shortcomings, the existing evidence clearly indicates that adaptation to avert the health impacts of climate change could provide substantial economic benefits, particularly in the poorer areas of the Region. View Full-TextKeywords:
climate change; climate; economics; health; health economics; Europe
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Martinez, G.S.; Williams, E.; Yu, S.S. The Economics of Health Damage and Adaptation to Climate Change in Europe: A Review of the Conventional and Grey Literature. Climate 2015, 3, 522-541.