“We took too long to realize that climate change is also a health crisis […] in every community and every country in the world. » The warning message was hammered out on October 24 by Dr. Jeremy Farrar, chief scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO), as part of a press conference to present the Lancet Countdown 2024.
The ninth occurrence of this annual scientific report, notably involving the WHO, is devoted to the consequences of climate change on health. And the results are, once again, alarming.
All around the world, the well-being, health and survival of populations are increasingly threatened by climate change. Heat-related mortality among people over 65 was 167% higher in 2023, compared to the 1990s, according to this report. On the economic front, the heat being too high to work would have caused a record 512 billion working hours to be lost in 2023, 49% more than in the 1990s and a loss estimated at $835 billion. (around 773 billion euros).
Extreme events and diseases on the rise
The disruption of the water cycle is also significant: 61% of land in the world has seen an increase in days of intense precipitation over the last decade, compared to the 1961-1990 average. On the other side of the spectrum, extreme droughts have affected, for at least one month, 48% of the world’s land in 2023, compared to an average of 15% in the 1950s.
Changing climatic conditions also favor the expansion of various diseases. The risk of transmission of dengue fever by the tiger mosquito has increased by 46% over the past decade (2014-2023) compared to the 1950s. Vibriosis, a disease caused by a bacterial infection, is increasingly able to spread due to warming, experienced a record number of 692,000 cases estimated in 2023.
Read also: Heat wave: extreme temperatures… which will be worse in the future
Last significant indicator: deaths linked to air pollution. The absence of clean technologies to supply homes with energy was responsible in 2020 for indoor air pollution generating 2.3 million premature deaths. Concerning outdoor air, however, a slight improvement is noted: 2.09 million premature deaths were estimated in 2021. A drop of 6.9% compared to 2016, linked in particular to a reduction in pollution due to the combustion of coal.
Fossil companies are accelerating
If the health risks worsen, it is because “Governments and corporations continue to fan the embers, increasing risks to the health and survival of populations around the world”deplores Marina Romanello, executive director of Lancet Countdown.
This is the other alarm message emphasized in the report: our greenhouse gas emissions, with lethal consequences at multiple levels, continue to increase. They reached a record level, an increase of another 1% in 2023. Worse: not only do companies plan to produce much more fossil fuels than is necessary to respect the Paris Climate Agreement, but their ambitions continue to grow. The authors of the report counted the quantity of fossil fuels that the 114 main gas and oil companies, representing 80% of global production, planned to produce in the coming decades.
In March 2023, they already planned to produce 173% more in 2040 than what would be necessary to respect the Paris Agreement. Last March, the figure was 189%. After a period of decline until 2020, investments in fossil fuels are on the rise again, reaching 1,100 billion dollars (1,018 billion euros), denounce the authors.
Behind these deadly investments, the Lancet Countdown also underlines the complicity of States through their persistent policies of subsidizing fossil fuels. In 2022, subsidies from 86 countries totaled the absolute record amount of $1.4 trillion (€1.3 trillion). With a certain dose of cynicism, the report calculates that, in 55% of the 86 countries analyzed, subsidies represent more than 10% of health spending. And in 27% of them, these expenses are even higher than those related to health.
Signs of hope
“This report sends a balanced message: on the one hand, things keep getting worse. On the other hand, the levers exist to move quickly towards improvements”notes with a touch of hope Jeremy Farrar.
Some signs are indeed encouraging. This is the case for the rate of electricity coming from renewable energies, which rose to 10.5% of the total in 2021, a doubling compared to 2016. Major argument for decision-makers: the renewable industry has at the same time directly employed 13.7 million people in 2022, an increase of 35.6% compared to 2016.
Around fifty countries have also assessed their health vulnerabilities in 2023, compared to only 11 in 2022, and 43 have already prepared a plan to adapt their health system to climate change, compared to 4 in 2022.
“The rise of these adaptation plans is the biggest source of hope that is emerging”says Marina Romanello. The fact remains that in the absence of an effective fight against fossil fuels, adaptation will quickly face insurmountable limits. Entire areas of the globe risk becoming uninhabitable, depending on the decisions that are taken collectively, the authors point out.
Since you are here…
…we have a little favor to ask of you!
Between the American election where “ecology” is a taboo word, a prime minister who flirts with the far right, and the climate disasters which have not taken a vacation… Bringing ecology to life in the public debate is a crucial issue.
No one edits what we post.
We have no shareholders or billionaire owners – only a team of die-hard journalists, full of determination.
We are convinced that the ecological emergency is the major issue of our time.
And like more than 2 million readers each month, you undoubtedly share this conviction…
For 11 years, we have been publishing quality journalism, with free access and without advertising, for everyone.
But this work requires a lot of time and resources.
So if you have the means, know that a donation, even of €1, is a strong act of support for ecology and independent journalism.
(And it will take you less time than reading this text).
If you can, choose monthly support. THANKS.
I support Reporterre
Subscribe to the Reporterre newsletter
After this article
“The acceleration of climate change threatens the survival of our children”
October 30, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. Updated October 30, 2024 at 12:38 p.m.
Reading time: 5 minutes
Subscribe to the Reporterre newsletter
legend
