COP29: positioning health at the core of climate negotiations

With the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) being held in Baku this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a special report on climate and health and a technical guidance on healthy nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The WHO is calling for an end to reliance on fossil fuels, instead advocating for people-centred adaptation and resilience — with the report emphasising the importance of positioning health at the core of all climate negotiations, strategies, policies and action plans, to save lives and secure healthier futures for present and future generations.

Call to abandon the siloed approach

The WHO is urging world leaders to abandon the siloed approach to addressing climate change and health.

“The climate crisis is a health crisis, which makes prioritising health and wellbeing in climate action not only a moral and legal imperative, but a strategic opportunity to unlock transformative health benefits for a more just and equitable future,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“COP29 is a crucial opportunity for global leaders to integrate health considerations into strategies for adapting to and mitigating climate change. WHO is supporting this work with practical guidelines and support for countries.”

The COP29 special report on climate change and health — developed by WHO in collaboration with over 100 organisations and 300 experts — identifies critical policies across three integrated dimensions: people, place and planet.

The report outlines key actions and recommendations aimed at protecting all people, particularly the estimated 3.6 billion people who live in areas which are most susceptible to climate change.

Key recommendations include:

• Make human health and wellbeing the top measure of climate success to catalyse progress and ensure people-centred adaptation and resilience.
• End fossil fuel subsidies and reliance by realigning economic and financial systems to protect both people’s health and the environment, through investment in clean, sustainable alternatives that reduce pollution-related diseases and cut carbon emissions.
• Mobilise financing for climate-health initiatives, particularly to strengthen responsive health systems and support the health workforce, creating resilient, climate-proof health systems to protect health and save lives.
• Invest in proven solutions; just five interventions — from heat-health warning systems, to clean household energy, to efficient pricing of fossil fuels — would save almost 2 million lives a year, and bring US$4 in benefits for each dollar invested.
• Build greater focus on the role of cities in health outcomes, through more sustainable urban design, clean energy, resilient housing and improved sanitation.
• Increase protections for and restoration of nature and biodiversity, recognising the synergistic health benefits of clean air, water and food security.
   

Dr Maria Neira, Director of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the WHO, said, “By prioritising health in every aspect of climate action, we can unlock significant benefits for public health, climate resilience, security and economic stability. Health is the argument we need to catalyse urgent and large-scale action in this critical moment.”

Practical actions

Climate NDCs are national plans and commitments made by countries under the Paris Agreement. While health is identified as a priority in 91% of the NDCs, few outline specific actions to leverage the health benefits of climate mitigation and adaptation or to protect health from climate-related risks.

To support countries to better integrate health into their climate policies, the WHO has released ‘WHO quality criteria for integrating health into Nationally Determined Contributions: Healthy NDCs’. The guidance outlines practical actions for ministries of health, ministries of environment, and other health-determining sectors (eg, transport, energy, urban planning, water and sanitation) to incorporate health considerations within their adaptation and mitigation policies and actions.

In addition to its own initiatives, the WHO convenes 90 countries and 75 partners through the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH). This platform was established to advance the commitments made at COP26 for building climate-resilient and sustainable health systems.

Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said, “From the impacts of extreme heat to the spread of illnesses through floodwaters, from malnutrition as crops fail to mosquito-borne diseases where they haven’t been seen before, the climate crisis is the ultimate health crisis. This report is vital — highlighting how climate change makes us sick and what we need to do about it.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Feodora Chiosea