On the eve of the major climate negotiations at COP27, the World Health Organization clearly remembers that the climate crisis continues to cause disease and threaten human lives and that health must be at the center of these decisive negotiations.
WHO believes the conference should lead to progress on the four key objectives of mitigation, adaptation, financing and collaboration to address the climate crisis.
COP27 will provide a crucial opportunity for the world to come together and re-commit to maintaining the 1.5 ° C target set in the Paris Agreement.
We invite journalists and COP27 participants to join WHO for a series of high-level events and to come and discover the Health Pavilion. We will focus on bringing the health threat posed by the climate crisis and the huge health gains from stronger climate action to the center of the discussion. Climate change is already affecting people’s health and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken.
“Climate change is making millions of people sick or more vulnerable to disease around the world, and the growing destructive power of extreme weather events disproportionately affects poor and marginalized communities,” says Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. It is crucial that leaders and decision makers mobilize at COP27 to put health at the center of the negotiations. “
Our health depends on the health of the ecosystems around us, and these ecosystems are now threatened by deforestation, agriculture and other land use changes, as well as rampant urbanization. Increasing intrusion into wildlife habitats increases the opportunities for dangerous viruses to pass from their animal hosts to humans. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is projected to cause nearly 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.
The direct costs of damage to health (excluding costs in health-critical sectors such as agriculture or water and sanitation) are estimated to be between $ 2 and $ 4 billion annually in the United States by 2030.
Rising global temperatures are already leading to extreme weather events resulting in intense heat waves and droughts, devastating floods and increasingly severe hurricanes and tropical storms. With the combination of these factors, the consequences for human health are increasing and will likely accelerate.
But there is still a glimmer of hope, especially if governments take action now to honor their commitments made in Glasgow in November 2021 and go further in resolving the climate crisis.
WHO calls on governments to commit to a gradual, just, equitable and rapid gradual reduction of fossil fuels and a transition to a clean energy future. Encouraging progress has also been made on decarbonisation commitments and the WHO is calling for the development of a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty that would phase out coal and other fossil fuels harmful to the atmosphere in a fair and equitable way. This treaty would represent one of the most important contributions to climate change mitigation.
Improving human health is something that all citizens can contribute to, both by promoting more urban green spaces, facilitating climate change mitigation and adaptation, reducing exposure to air pollution, and promoting traffic restrictions and improving local transport systems. Community engagement and participation are key to promoting resilience and strengthening food and health systems, particularly for vulnerable populations and small island developing states, which are most affected by extreme weather events.
In the Great Horn of Africa, which is suffering from one of the worst droughts in decades, 31 million people suffer from famine and 11 million children from acute malnutrition. Climate change is already having an impact on food security and if current trends persist, the situation will only get worse. In Pakistan, the floods that have devastated much of the country are the result of climate change. The repercussions will be felt for many years. More than 33 million people have been affected and nearly 1,500 health centers have been damaged.
But communities and regions less accustomed to extreme weather conditions also need to strengthen resilience, as we have seen recently during the floods and heat waves that hit Central Europe. WHO encourages everyone to work with local leaders on these issues and to take action within their own community.
Climate policy must now put health at the center and promote climate change mitigation policies that are at the same time beneficial to health. With a health-oriented climate policy, the planet would benefit from cleaner air, more abundant and healthier food and water, more efficient and equitable health and social protection systems and, consequently, healthier populations.
Investments in clean energy will produce advances in the health sector that will pay off double the initial outlay. Proven interventions reduce short-term emissions of climate pollutants. For example, stricter emission standards for vehicles can be calculated to save around 2.4 million lives per year through improved air quality and a reduction in global warming of around 0.5 ° C by 2050. The cost of renewable energy sources has dropped dramatically in recent years and in most major economies solar power is now cheaper than coal or gas.
Note to editors :
WHO is responsible for 32 Sustainable Development Goal indicators, of which 17 are influenced by climate change or its drivers and 16 have a specific impact on children’s health.
The COP27 Health Pavilion will bring together the global health community and its partners to put health and equity at the heart of climate negotiations. It will feature a series of events over two weeks that will showcase evidence, initiatives and solutions to maximize the health benefits of addressing climate change across regions, sectors and communities.
The centerpiece of the health pavilion will be an art installation depicting the human lungs.
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James Aldworth
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