South Asia is bearing an economic burden from air pollution equivalent to around 10 per cent of its regional GDP, but coordinated action on climate and air quality could deliver substantial economic gains, according to a new assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
The report, titled Hidden Assets: The Economic and Health Case for Climate and Clean Air Action estimates that implementing 25 integrated climate and clean-air solutions in South Asia could generate about $21 in economic benefits for every $1 invested.
The measures could avoid damages equivalent to around 4 per cent of South Asia’s GDP by 2035, with the figure potentially rising to 14.5 per cent by 2100. The report assessed 15 regions globally and found South Asia had the highest projected economic burden and potential gains.
Clean cooking emerges as top priority
Clean cooking and heating is identified as the leading solution for South Asia in 2035, followed by transforming power generation and strengthening industrial emissions standards.
The assessment highlights India’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana as an example of a programme that has expanded access to cleaner cooking fuels. The report says the scheme provided LPG connections to approximately 80 million low-income households and contributed significantly to reductions in residential sector emissions.
However, the report warns that clean cooking alone cannot resolve South Asia’s air pollution problem. The 25 solutions span energy, industry, transport, agriculture, residential energy and waste management.
By 2050, industrial process emissions standards, vehicle emission standards and power-sector transformation are projected to become more important than clean cooking and heating.
Delay could cost trillions
The report estimates that every year of delayed global action could mean more than $1.5 trillion in annual economic and health benefits being lost.
Globally, the 25 measures could generate around $15 in benefits for every $1 invested. Their economic benefits could equal 2.8 per cent of global GDP in 2035, 4.5 per cent in 2050 and 11.4 per cent by 2100.
In Delhi, the assessment estimates that meeting existing national air quality standards on schedule from 2026 could reduce cumulative PM2.5 exposure by 20 per cent by 2040. An eight year delay could cut that reduction to around 10 per cent.
Health and climate benefits
The economic gains would come not only from reduced pollution but also from lower healthcare costs, improved worker productivity, fewer premature deaths and reduced climate related damage.
Globally, outdoor air pollution was linked to an estimated 6.4 million premature deaths in 2025, while household air pollution was associated with another 2 million premature deaths.
The report estimates that full implementation of the 25 measures could prevent 277 million air-pollution-related premature deaths cumulatively by 2050, including 192 million deaths linked to ambient air pollution.
The measures could also reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by half by 2050 and cut methane emissions by about 60 per cent. Major air pollutants such as black carbon, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides could decline by around 70 per cent.
Integrated action could also avoid approximately 0.34°C of global warming by 2050 and 1.4°C by 2100.
25 solutions across six sectors
The proposed package includes renewable energy and energy efficiency, clean cooking, stronger vehicle emission standards, electric vehicles, industrial pollution controls, reduced oil and gas leakage, improved livestock and manure management, efficient fertiliser use, alternatives to crop residue burning, better waste and wastewater management, and the phase down of hydrofluorocarbons.
UNEP stresses that the measures are designed to work together. No individual solution can deliver the full potential reduction in PM2.5 pollution in any region; a single measure can account for no more than about half of the total reduction potential in a given region and year.
Finance and institutions remain critical
The report identifies fragmented policymaking, weak enforcement and poor coordination between government agencies as major barriers to faster implementation.
It estimates that institutional barriers alone could contribute around 2.4 years of delay over a notional 15 year implementation period.
The assessment argues that resources are available but need to be redirected. Global government spending on explicit fossil fuel subsidies was equivalent to around 2.18 per cent of global GDP in 2022, compared with an estimated current annual cost of about 0.7 per cent of global GDP to implement the 25 solutions.
The findings suggest that treating air pollution and climate change as separate policy challenges could mean missing significant economic opportunities. Coordinated action across sectors, the report concludes, could simultaneously improve public health, productivity, energy security and climate resilience.