For years, the climate crisis has been framed as a future challenge, something to worry about “one day.” But that framing no longer holds.

Climate change is not only here, it is already costing us more to deal with its consequences than it would to prevent them.

From crop failure and infrastructure collapse to rising healthcare costs and disaster recovery bills, governments, businesses, and communities are spending billions reacting to climate impacts. At the same time, critical investments in sustainable solutions, particularly nature-based solutions, remain underfunded.

So what is the true cost of doing nothing? And how does it compare to taking action? The answer is clearer than ever: the cost of climate inaction is far greater than the cost of taking action.

We’re Already Paying for the Climate Crisis

Climate-related disasters are no longer rare events. They are frequent, widespread, and increasingly costly. According to the World Economic Forum, climate change is already costing the world $16 million every hour – not in future projections, but in real-time spending.

In the United States alone, 2023 saw 28 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, with total damages exceeding $92 billion. Globally, the past decade has seen extreme weather events rack up over $2 trillion in damages, and these costs are rising each year.

This includes the cost of:

• Emergency disaster response
• Rebuilding damaged infrastructure
• Economic disruption to supply chains and business operations
• Lost livelihoods in sectors like farming, fishing, and tourism

What we’re seeing is not just environmental collapse, but economic destabilisation, as entire systems are stretched beyond their limits.

Climate Impacts Are Hitting Key Economic Sectors

Agriculture and Food Security

Farmers are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Unpredictable rainfall, extreme heat, and more frequent droughts are leading to crop failures and lower yields.

In the UK, heatwaves and flooding in 2023 led to a 15% drop in wheat production. In Kenya, long drought cycles are decimating harvests and livestock, pushing up food prices and threatening livelihoods.

The knock-on effect? Rising food prices and worsening food insecurity, both locally and globally.

The Financial Times reported that food prices are becoming increasingly volatile due to climate stressors, particularly in import-dependent regions.

 

Healthcare Systems

Climate change is also a public health crisis. From heat-related illness and respiratory problems due to air pollution, to the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue in newly warmed regions, climate-linked illness is rising fast.

The World Economic Forum warns that the financial strain on healthcare systems is already growing, as more people seek care during extreme weather events and governments are forced to allocate more resources to climate-related health emergencies.

Infrastructure and Insurance

Flooding, coastal erosion, wildfires, and storms are damaging infrastructure at unprecedented rates. Bridges, roads, power lines, and homes are being rebuilt over and over, only to be hit again.

The insurance industry is sounding the alarm too. In some high-risk areas, home and property insurance is becoming unaffordable or unavailable, leaving communities without a safety net when disaster strikes.

All of this represents money spent reacting, rather than investing in long-term resilience.

The Myth of Costly Climate Action

One of the most persistent myths about climate action is that it is too expensive or disruptive. This couldn’t be more false.

In fact, a growing body of evidence shows that investing in climate solutions saves money, particularly when those investments are made early.

According to a report from the Global Commission on Adaptation, every dollar spent on building climate resilience delivers four dollars in economic return through reduced damages and avoided losses.

Despite this, we continue to underinvest in preventive solutions, particularly in nature-based approaches that offer multiple co-benefits.

 

Nature-Based Solutions Are a Smart Investment

Nature-based solutions refer to projects that protect, manage or restore natural ecosystems to address societal challenges, including climate change. These can include forest conservation, peatland restoration, mangrove planting, regenerative agriculture and more.

Not only do these projects help draw down carbon from the atmosphere, but they also improve biodiversity, strengthen water security and build resilience in surrounding communities.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, nature-based solutions could deliver 37% of the emissions reductions needed by 2030 to keep global warming within two degrees Celsius.

Yet despite their potential, they currently receive less than 3% of global climate finance.

This funding gap is a missed opportunity. At Leaving a Legacy, we have seen the power of nature-based solutions through our work restoring the Kakamega Forest in Kenya, the country’s last remaining tropical rainforest.

By supporting this ecosystem, we are protecting endangered species, capturing carbon, improving water cycles, reducing flood risk and creating economic opportunities for local communities.

Restoring ecosystems offers multiple benefits. It is more cost-effective than many engineered infrastructure projects. It can be implemented quickly across local and regional landscapes. And it directly involves the communities who live closest to the land and are most impacted by climate change.

Nature-based solutions are not just good for the planet. They are a smart investment in people, economies and the future.

We Are Funding the Fallout Instead of the Future

When governments and businesses fail to act, the costs do not disappear – they simply appear elsewhere. They show up in overwhelmed healthcare systems, failing harvests, emergency aid packages, rebuilding costs, supply chain losses, and rising insurance premiums.

Rather than investing in long-term sustainability, we are spending more and more to put bandaid solutions over the consequences of short-term thinking.

According to research from Oxford University, even a moderate delay in climate action could cost the global economy an extra $7 trillion by 2070. That is on top of the lives lost, communities displaced, and ecosystems degraded.

What Needs to Change

The logic is simple. If we know climate change is costly, and we know what works to prevent it, we need to shift funding and attention from reactive spending to proactive solutions.

That means:

• Scaling up funding for ecosystem restoration
• Supporting community-led climate adaptation
• Prioritising climate resilience in public budgets
• Holding businesses accountable for their climate impact

It also means rethinking what “cost” really means. The price of climate action is not a loss, it is an investment. One that pays off not only economically, but socially and environmentally too.

The Price of Doing Nothing

We are already paying the cost of climate change. The only choice we have is how we spend our money. We can continue responding to ongoing damage, or we can invest in long-term solutions.

The longer we wait, the more we spend and the less we gain. But if we act now, especially by supporting nature-based solutions, we can build a future that is safer, more stable and ultimately more affordable for everyone.

At Leaving a Legacy, we work with businesses to support long-term nature restoration projects that offer measurable impact and real climate benefits. Because investing in nature is not a luxury. It is a necessity.