This follows the launch on Thursday of the Belém Health Action Plan, a flagship COP30 initiative that puts health at the center of climate policy.
What the WHO says
“The climate crisis is a health crisis, not in the distant future, but here and now,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“This special report provides evidence on the impact of climate change on people and health systems, and real-world examples of what countries can do – and are doing – to protect health and strengthen health systems.”
Why is it important
Global temperatures already exceed 1.5°C. The report finds that between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people live in areas highly vulnerable to climate impacts, while hospitals face a 41 percent higher risk of damage from extreme weather compared to 1990.
Without rapid decarbonization, the number of healthcare facilities at risk could double by mid-century. The health sector itself contributes around 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring the need for a rapid transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient systems.
Key gaps in health adaptation
The report highlights marked gaps in health adaptation planning:
- Only 54 percent of national health adaptation plans evaluate the risks for health facilities.
- less than 30 percent consider income disparities.
- Only 20 percent take gender into account.
- less than 1 percent include people with disabilities.
Progress has been made (the number of countries with multi-hazard early warning systems doubled between 2015 and 2023), but coverage remains uneven, especially in least developed countries and small island states.
What is being done?
To add momentum, a coalition of more than 35 philanthropic organizations today pledged $300 million to accelerate solutions at the intersection of climate and health.
The Coalition of Funders for Climate and Health, which includes Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Gates Foundation, the IKEA Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and Wellcome, will support innovations, policies and research on extreme heat, air pollution and climate-sensitive diseases, as well as strengthening health systems and data integration. Find out more here.
The coalition’s inaugural funding effort supports the Belém Health Action Plan and aims to deliver “no regrets” interventions that save lives now. With the last decade being the hottest on record and temperatures set to remain near record highs, experts warn that failure to act risks catastrophic consequences for human health.
‘Adaptation is urgent’: COP30 health envoy calls for action
UN News spoke with Ethel Maciel, special envoy for health at COP30 and one of the architects of the Belém Health Action Plan. He emphasized that climate change is no longer a distant threat: it is now reshaping health systems.
“So how do we prepare our health units, our hospitals, our structures for these extreme events that will occur with increasing frequency? And how can we train and train health professionals so that they can face these extreme events that will be caused by what we are already experiencing with these climate changes,” he said.
“An example here in Brazil was last year’s flood in Rio Grande do Sul, (which triggered) the largest dengue epidemic in history, driven by these climate changes. Therefore, it is not something we should think about in the future; it is happening now. So thinking about how to adapt our system is urgent.”
Ms. Maciel described three pillars of the plan:
- Listen integrate climate and health data, enabling forecasts of heat-related health demand and better reporting of climate-related cases.
- Resilient systems and training so that health professionals can identify and treat impacts such as dehydration or cardiac stress.
- Research and innovation to develop heat-resistant medicines and vaccines, reduce pollution in health supply chains and expand the use of renewable energy.
He warned that implementation is essential in the Amazon, where deforestation could unleash unknown pathogens. “We have … pathogens that we still don’t even fully (understand),” he said, urging leaders to ensure the plan “doesn’t become just another document and another very nice statement, but that doesn’t happen in practice.”
UN Newsis reporting from Belém, giving you front-row coverage of everything happening at COP30.