- We urge the governments attending COP29 to recognize the climate crisis as a public health emergency and to implement adaptation and mitigation policies focused on people.
- The rapid rise in temperatures is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events like DANAs, heat waves, and droughts.
- We call for a global commitment to reduce fossil fuel use by 80% by 2035 and eliminate it entirely by 2040.
Today, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) begins. In this context, Salud por Derecho calls on governments, particularly those of the European Union, to prioritize health in climate discussions. The scientific evidence is clear: the climate crisis is already a severe threat to global health and requires an urgent political response. Without strong measures, its effects will become increasingly devastating, especially impacting vulnerable populations and deepening inequality.
The increase in extreme weather events, such as DANAs, heat waves, wildfires, and prolonged droughts, is having direct consequences on the health of millions and is directly tied to the rapid and continued rise in average global temperature. The European Copernicus program has just announced that 2024 will be the hottest year on record. Between January and October of this year, global temperatures reached a record 1.59°C above pre-industrial levels.
Additionally, in the last decade, there has been a 61% increase in extreme precipitation worldwide compared to the 1961-1990 average, according to data from The Lancet Countdown. Meanwhile, 48% of global territories experienced at least one month of extreme drought in 2023. The greater frequency and duration of heat waves and drought months are linked to the fact that 151 million more people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity across 124 countries in 2022, compared to the 1981-2010 period.
Exposure to hot days and direct heat-related deaths have also increased, especially among the most vulnerable: in 2023, there was a 167% rise in heat-related deaths among people over 65 compared to the 1990s. Furthermore, lost hours of work and sleep have increased, with all the health consequences that entails. There has also been an increase in cases of vector-borne diseases, such as dengue or malaria, as warming facilitates the spread of mosquitoes that carry these diseases to new territories and latitudes.
On the other hand, air quality, which worsens with fossil fuel use, affects 99% of people worldwide, causing cardiovascular, respiratory diseases, and about 8 million premature deaths each year, according to the Global State of the Air report from the Institute for Health Effects.
For these reasons, the countries attending COP29 have the responsibility to implement public policies that strengthen national climate adaptation and mitigation plans, prioritizing health at the core of their strategies. To advance a fair and sustainable energy transition, Salud por Derecho proposes the following ten recommendations:
- Eliminate Fossil Fuels: Governments should reduce fossil fuel use by 80% by 2035 and eliminate it by 2040, while boosting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
- Adopt a Climate Justice Approach: Policies must focus on equity, protecting the most vulnerable communities.
- Prioritize Health in Climate Policies: Public health must be at the center of climate policies, in line with WHO guidance, and binding commitments should be established.
- Strengthen Health Adaptation Plans: It is essential to reinforce specific plans to address extreme temperatures, vector-borne diseases, air pollution, and droughts.
- Conduct Vulnerability Assessments: Climate vulnerability and risk assessments enable specific action planning in each region. Governments should support these assessments in their respective countries and implement climate action plans tailored to diverse contexts.
- Implement Local and Regional Measures: Governments should promote actions like expanding green spaces and permeable areas in cities, creating climate shelters, and designing healthy, resilient urban environments. For mitigation, reducing transportation emissions, promoting active mobility, and establishing Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in urban areas are essential.
- Increase Climate Action Financing and Collaborate with the Global South: Enhance funding for adaptation, mitigation, and fair transition, both in resource-rich countries and in the Global South, where the climate crisis is hitting harder.
- Protect Vulnerable Populations: Policies that protect the most affected people and ensure safe migration processes for those fleeing climate impacts are essential.
- Decarbonize the Health Sector: Health systems must reduce their carbon footprint by promoting sustainable practices and aiming for complete decarbonization of the sector.
These recommendations are further detailed in the report we published a few months ago, The Impact of Climate Change on People’s Health: From Global to the Spanish Experience, in which we explore the health effects of climate change on citizens and analyze public climate policies from a health perspective.
Salud por Derecho urges COP29 leaders to acknowledge that the climate crisis is no longer a future threat but a present emergency affecting the health and well-being of millions worldwide. Public health must be a top priority in climate policies, and the international community has an urgent responsibility to carry out a fair, sustainable, and ambitious transition to protect the health of people and the planet.
