Health needs to be front and centre of national plans to fight climate change – PAHO/WHO

Geneva, 23 November 2023 (WHO)—Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-28), WHO has published its “2023 Health Review in Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-Term Strategies” highlighting the actions necessary to ensure that people’s health is fully prioritized and integrated into national plans to fight climate change.

Climate change is already harming human health and well-being. From diseases caused by extreme weather events to the increased incidence and spread of vector-borne diseases; and the increase in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases caused by extreme heat and air pollution, respectively, the impacts of climate on human health are inescapable.

«The health of humans and our planet are inextricably linked, and after years of promises, rapid action is urgently needed to protect both,» said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Only climate policies driven by health outcomes will result in the actions necessary to save lives, prevent disease, and build healthier, more just societies.”

Integrating health into national climate strategies

Significant progress has been made in integrating health into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Low Emissions and Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), the main policy instruments to reduce emissions and build resilience climate as established in the Paris Agreement. .

91% of available NDCs now include health considerations, compared to 70% of those reported in 2019. Compared to previous rounds of national climate plans, more inclusive and promoting climate goals and policies are being developed. health for mitigation, adaptation, means of implementation, Loss and Damage, and long-term sustainable development strategies.

“Countries have made significant progress in recognizing the threat of climate change to human and planetary health in their national plans to address climate change, but we need these commitments to be expanded, accelerated and adequately funded to ensure a response.” equitable that protects health and well-being. livelihoods of current and future generations,” said Dr. María Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at WHO.

Urgent action needed to prevent deaths from air pollution

Despite these advances, there are still huge gaps in the measures being adopted. Ambitious action on air pollution will save lives, but only 16% of NDCs include stand-alone targets, measures or policies to reduce air pollution.

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health risks. Ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution together cause around seven million premature deaths each year from ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and respiratory diseases such as asthma and pneumonia, disproportionately affecting children in low and middle income countries.

By stepping up measures to reduce carbon emissions, countries will also reap greater health benefits. For example, encouraging hiking and cycling and supporting changes towards sustainable, healthy diets improves health while reducing impacts on the climate.

Furthermore, countries can be expected to realize health benefits that outweigh the financial investments needed to mitigate climate change. For example, the LT-LEDS of the United States of America estimates that the improvements in air quality that would result from implementing climate change mitigation measures could prevent up to 300,000 deaths and avoid between 150 and 250 billion dollars in health and climate damage by 2030. Similarly, LT-LEDS in other countries, including Fiji, Morocco and Spain, recognize that achieving climate change mitigation targets will generate economic savings through reduced pollution from air.

Health-specific climate action is underfunded

Sustainable climate finance is essential for health adaptation, mitigation and climate resilient development, but health remains chronically underfunded in national plans to address climate change.

The ability of countries to undertake climate change adaptation and mitigation actions depends largely on their financial capacity and, all too often, the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis are those that do not have the resources to finance the climate action.

Most countries depend on international financial support for climate action. Only one in ten NDCs include internal financing for some or all of their health actions and only one in five long-term strategies include specific health financing provisions, such as taxes, levies and carbon pricing mechanisms.

Despite this reliance on multilateral climate finance, currently only 2% of adaptation finance and 0.5% of total climate finance are allocated to projects that explicitly aim to protect or improve human health.

To ensure an equitable and effective response to climate change, WHO calls for multilateral climate financing mechanisms to allocate more funds to policies and initiatives that explicitly aim to protect or improve human health.

Health at COP-28

WHO continues to support countries to protect health by building climate-resilient health systems, reducing carbon emissions from healthcare, and tracking global progress.

WHO is working with the COP28 Presidency to lead the first dedicated health day at the COP on 3 December 2023 and the Health and Climate Ministers meeting, underscoring the urgent need to accelerate climate action focused on health. health at all levels.