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Over the past months, the international health community has been in full gear preparing for the COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt, to call on governments around the world to integrate health and health equity into climate decision making, and to make and implement the commitments urgently needed, to avert catastrophic health consequences...
A just and rapid phase out of fossil fuels, globally, is a key issue for health professionals, as well as government commitments to provide financing to low income countries to make the clean energy transition, and to adapt to coming climate impacts, and respond to the damages they are already experiencing.
Around the world, we continue to see the unfolding climate crisis hammering human and planetary health. The health impacts are evident everywhere, in the wake of the Pakistan floods, to China, to the impacts of drought in Africa, from the European heat waves, and the impacts of major hurricanes in North America. African countries are expected to be among the most damaged by the impacts of the climate crisis. Yet, the soaring price of gas, driven by war in Ukraine and the recovery from the Covid pandemic, has spurred many countries to see a potential bonanza in the unexploited reserves remaining in Africa.
Meanwhile as health professionals, we know that the health benefits of climate action can offset the costs of action, and can improve people’s health, in the countries that take action, if climate policies are designed to incorporate health.
There were some positive outcomes for people’s health in the Glasgow Climate Pact out of COP26: the right to health was reaffirmed as a fundamental principle underpinning climate action; and countries recommitted to limiting warming to 1.5C. When it comes to substantive commitments, however, progress in Glasgow remained fairly incremental, and far from enough. While the COP outcomes did, for the first time ever under the Paris Agreement, mention fossil fuels - a very important win - the language was progressively weakened during the drafting process. And, despite recommitting to the 1.5C warming target, the majority of governments have failed to deliver updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to make good on that promise.
The health community is more organized than ever going into COP27, and will be engaging with national delegations on how health intersects with key areas of the negotiations and how health can be effectively integrated into climate decision making on mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, financing and food systems, as well as mounting a wide array of side events highlighting what climate change really means for people’s health; showcasing promising solutions; and collaborating across sectors to push for a integrated vision for a healthy, sustainable, and just future.
This is also the time of the year when the Lancet Countdown report, launching on 26th of October, gives us a measure of where we stand on progress in climate and health. With 43 new and updated indicators, contributions from researchers and institutions from every continent, the 2022 report provides new evidence to support accelerated climate action to protect the health of populations around the world. This year's news is not good, but if we take action there is hope.
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