Researchers at the World Resources Institute found that every US$1 spent on climate adaptation yields over $10.50 in economic, social, and environmental benefits.
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Investments in climate adaptation yield not only economic benefits but also social and environmental benefits – and, in some cases, even mitigation co-benefits – according to new research.
The study, carried out by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and published last month, evaluated the benefits that arose from 320 adaptation investments across 12 countries between 2014 and 2024 in sectors including agriculture, water, infrastructure, and health.
Researchers found that every US$1 spent on resilience yields over $10.50 in benefits.
Investments in the health sector recorded even greater returns – over 78%, driven by the benefits of protecting people from climate-related impacts, such as heat stress and the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue fever.
“Adaptation is often narrowly seen as a way of avoiding climate-related losses—yet it can also deliver economic, social, and environmental returns,” WRI said. On average, these investments led to an annual return of 27% through reduced mortality, stronger local economies, and more resilient infrastructure. The number, however, was likely an underestimation as many benefits are not monetized, the study said.
In nearly half of the cases analyzed, such as those concerning agriculture and energy infrastructure, adaptation investments also resulted in mitigation co-benefits like greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Benefits of adaptation investments (click to view)
Avoided losses
- Avoided mortality
- Avoided injuries and illnesses
- Avoided property loss and damage
- Avoided loss of productivity or yield
- Avoided labor loss
- Avoided water loss
- Avoided loss to tourism
- Avoided repair costs
Induced economic benefits
- Employment gains
- Increase in productivity or yields
- Additional investment attracted
- Appreciation of property values
- Increased tourism
- Financial savings
- Reduced maintenance costs
- Productive time savings
Social and environmental benefits
- Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Improvements in health outcomes
- Improvements in well-being
- General time savings
- Increased biodiversity
- Recreation opportunities
- Improvements in soil nutrients/fertility
- Enhanced water retention
The resulting benefits were in most cases not dependent on whether the anticipated climate disaster occurred – the reduced level of physical risk in local communities was enough to increase efficiency and productivity, leading to higher incomes and new investments. As WRI’s Senior Fellow Carter Brandon put it: “Policymakers don’t need a disaster to justify resilience – it’s simply smart development.”
The analysis provides compelling evidence for scaling climate adaptation finance. Researchers urged governments to acknowledge and track the high returns on investments from adaptation to inform future projects across different sectors and regions and incentivize private finance.
Featured image: UN Women Asia and the Pacific/Flickr.
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