WHO: Global health community prescribes climate action for COVID recovery

Based connected a increasing assemblage of probe confirming galore and inseparable links betwixt clime and health, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COP26 Special Report connected Climate Change and Health spells retired that transformational enactment successful each sector, from energy, transport and quality to nutrient systems and concern is needed to support people.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a airy connected the intimate and delicate links betwixt humans, animals and our environment”, said WHO main Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The aforesaid unsustainable choices that are sidesplitting our satellite are sidesplitting people”.

An urgent call

WHO’s study was launched astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic an open letter, signed by implicit 2 thirds of the planetary wellness workforce – 300 organizations representing astatine slightest 45 cardinal doctors and wellness professionals worldwide – calling for nationalist leaders and COP26 state delegations to measurement up clime action. 

“Wherever we present care, successful our hospitals, clinics and communities astir the world, we are already responding to the wellness harms caused by clime change”, the missive from the wellness professionals reads.

“We telephone connected the leaders of each state and their representatives astatine COP26 to avert the impending wellness catastrophe by limiting planetary warming to 1.5°C, and to marque quality wellness and equity cardinal to each clime alteration mitigation and adaptation actions”.

Fossil fuels ‘killing us’

Both the study and unfastened missive travel arsenic unprecedented utmost upwind events and different clime impacts are taking a rising toll connected everyone.

Heatwaves, storms and floods person taken thousands of lives and disrupted millions of others portion besides threatening healthcare systems and facilities erstwhile they are needed most, according to WHO.

Changes successful upwind and clime are threatening nutrient information and driving up food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, specified arsenic malaria, portion clime impacts are besides negatively affecting intelligence health.  

“The burning of fossil fuels is sidesplitting us. Climate alteration is the azygous biggest wellness menace facing humanity”, states the WHO report. And portion nary 1 is harmless from the wellness impacts of clime change, “they are disproportionately felt by the astir susceptible and disadvantaged”.

Climate actions acold outweigh costs

Meanwhile, aerial pollution, chiefly the effect of burning fossil fuels, which besides drives clime change, causes 13 deaths per infinitesimal worldwide, according to WHO. 

The study states intelligibly that the nationalist wellness benefits from implementing ambitious clime actions acold outweigh the costs. 

“It has ne'er been clearer that the clime situation is 1 of the astir urgent wellness emergencies we each face”, said Maria Neira, WHO Director of Environment, Climate Change and Health.

“Bringing down aerial pollution…would trim the full fig of planetary deaths from aerial contamination by 80 per cent portion dramatically reducing the greenhouse state emissions that substance clime change”, she pointed out.

Dr. Neira added that a displacement to much nutritious, plant-based diets “could trim planetary emissions significantly, guarantee much resilient nutrient systems, and debar up to 5.1 cardinal diet-related deaths a twelvemonth by 2050”.  

Call to action

Although achieving the Paris Agreement connected clime alteration would amended aerial quality, fare and carnal enactment – redeeming millions of lives a twelvemonth – astir clime decision-making processes presently bash not relationship for these wellness co-benefits and their economical valuation.  

Tedros underscored WHO’s telephone for each countries to “commit to decisive enactment astatine COP26 to bounds planetary warming to 1.5°C – not conscionable due to the fact that it’s the close happening to do, but due to the fact that it’s successful our ain interests”, and highlighted 10 priorities successful the study to safeguard “the wellness of radical and the satellite that sustains us.”