In 2023, around 710,000 people worldwide died from heat-related causes. According to estimates from the 2026 Lancet Countdown, more than 70% of these deaths were attributable to human-caused climate change. Extreme temperatures, droughts and pollution are already affecting the health of millions of people, particularly those with fewer resources to protect themselves. At Salud por Derecho, we therefore call for climate policies and public budgets to prioritise the prevention of these health impacts and the reduction of health inequalities.
The new Lancet Countdown report, which monitors the links between climate change and health, calls for climate change to be formally recognised as a global health emergency. The report estimates that, since the Paris Agreement entered into force, global warming has been responsible for around three million heat-related deaths. Its impacts also extend to employment, food security and access to water. In 2025, extreme drought affected more than half of the world’s land area. That same year, heat exposure resulted in potential labour income losses of US$1.07 trillion. The agricultural sector accounted for 38% of these losses, with countries with a lower Human Development Index experiencing a proportionally greater impact.
Protecting health from climate change requires cutting emissions, improving living conditions and preparing public services for increasingly extreme temperatures. Particular attention must also be paid to people living in poorly insulated homes, those working outdoors and those who struggle to access basic necessities such as water and energy.
Public budgets that do not harm health
Between 2016 and 2024, governments provided US$6.2 trillion in net fossil fuel subsidies, according to the report. In ten countries, spending on these subsidies exceeded public spending on health. At the same time, international funding committed to health adaptation covered barely one-third of the needs reported by developing countries. At Salud por Derecho, we call on governments to stop financing activities that worsen the climate crisis and to require fossil fuel companies to adopt credible plans to reduce their emissions.
Public resources should be directed towards accelerating the energy transition, reducing pollution and protecting people’s health, particularly those most affected by climate change. We also oppose the proposed cuts to the European Union’s next long-term budget and call for at least 50% of EU funding to be allocated to tackling climate change, protecting nature and reducing pollution. Sufficient funding must be secured to improve housing, expand public transport and protect people’s health from the impacts of climate change.
The health benefits of reducing emissions can already be measured. The Lancet Countdown estimates that, in 77 countries where air pollution from fossil fuels has declined since 2016, improvements in air quality prevented around 323,000 deaths per year. Globally, fine particulate matter pollution from fossil fuels caused approximately 2.78 million deaths in 2023.
In Spain, the transposition of the new EU Ambient Air Quality Directive must strengthen health protection against air pollution. We therefore call for the transposition deadline of 11 December to be met, and for the necessary measures to be taken to achieve the new legally binding air quality limit values within the deadlines set by the Directive. We also call for progress towards the levels recommended by the WHO Air Quality Guidelines as soon as possible.
Adaptation that reduces inequalities
In 2025, only 56 of the World Health Organization’s 194 Member States had developed a national health adaptation plan for climate change. This lack of preparedness is particularly concerning in countries and communities already experiencing the greatest impacts.
Climate adaptation must include measures that improve people’s everyday lives. These include making homes better able to withstand heat and cold, tackling energy poverty, expanding accessible public transport and strengthening health systems’ capacity to respond to extreme weather events. Such investments can prevent harm to health and reduce inequalities.
The development of Spain’s new Strategic Plan for Health and the Environment (Plan Estratégico de Salud y Medio Ambiente, PESMA) is an opportunity to strengthen the health response to climate change. At Salud por Derecho, we call for the plan to include concrete measures, binding commitments and sufficient funding to prevent harm to health, particularly among the most vulnerable populations.
We also call for EU-funded programmes to include health impact assessments. Knowing how much money is allocated to climate action is not enough. We need to assess whether investments reduce exposure to pollution, protect people from heat and improve living conditions for those in the most vulnerable situations.
The European Union is also preparing a new climate resilience framework to improve prevention and responses to the impacts of global warming. This process must strengthen health protection and ensure that adaptation measures reach the populations most exposed to climate risks. European commitments must therefore be backed by sufficient funding and take account of existing inequalities between countries and regions.
The international response also requires more funding for countries with fewer resources. The Lancet Countdown calls for increased support through grants and concessional loans, stronger international cooperation and better access to data to assess the outcomes of policies.
The next UN Climate Change Conference, COP31, which will take place in Türkiye in November, will be another opportunity to advance emissions reductions and international adaptation finance. At Salud por Derecho, we insist that these commitments must take account of their impacts on health and the needs of the populations most affected by climate change.
