Global Climate and Health Alliance

Despite widespread global support for climate action, a majority believe they're outnumbered. Discover the TRUTH in our #WeAreTheMajority video.  🥸 When some political leaders or decision makers try to make you believe no one cares about #PublicHealth or the #ClimateCrisis 👉 Remember ✋The #WeAreTheMajority video set the records straight https://lnkd.in/dDNpfYXP With the great participation of Sunway University, Stop Ecocide International, Amnesty International, Power Shift Africa, Make Polluters Pay, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN), Black Girls Rising, Health Care Without Harm, Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), 350.org, Our Kids' Climate

As the UN Climate Change Conference (#SB60) comes to a close in Bonn without significant progress, and the G7 kicks off in Italy, the Global Climate and Health Alliance called on developed countries to rapidly reduce emissions and to deliver on climate finance - such as the reallocation of fossil fuel subsidies to climate finance - in order to protect people from the worst impacts of climate change. Meanwhile, tens of people migrating from Sudan to Egypt have been killed by extreme heat in the past days, and hundreds in India since March. Progress stalled in Bonn, with some countries deliberately avoiding discussions on ending fossil fuel use, undermining progress made at COP28, despite efforts by others to advance action. With just six months until a decision must be reached during COP29 in Baku, governments also failed to make substantial headway on agreeing a new goal for climate finance, with major questions of quantity, source, allocation (to mitigation, adaptation, or also loss and damage) and nature of funding (e.g., grants or loans) left unresolved. The COP29 presidency doubled back on an earlier proposal to tax fossil fuels as a way to raise additional funding to assist countries most impacted by climate change (albeit with fossil-fuel producing nations as fund shareholders), with Azerbaijan’s chief negotiator later stating that “we cannot single out any particular part of the industry [from other industries]”. Yet fossil fuel companies have made record profits in recent years, while health systems buckle under the growing strain of the impacts of heatwaves, storms, and disease on people’s health. “During this month’s Bonn Climate Conference, governments could have accelerated a response to the “transition away from fossil fuels” signaled during COP28, but instead spent two weeks kicking the can down the road without agreeing on any decision on mitigation at all, with some countries directly obstructing useful discourse to protect human health and wellbeing”, said Dr Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. “With COP29 just months away, developed countries, including the G7, must act to protect people’s health from the climate crisis, by rapidly reducing emissions and delivering on climate finance, including shifting fossil fuel subsidies to ensure finance to support all countries so they can adapt, respond and transition in the climate era.” “While we wait for governments to get their act together, communities in every country around the world are paying the price with their health, their lives, their children’s futures, with low income, developing countries are suffering the most”, said Miller. “Meanwhile, governments continue to spend trillions subsidizing fossil fuels - there is enough finance, it’s just being spent immorally, and in the most harmful places.” https://bit.ly/sb60gcha2 #bonnclimate #health #climatehealth

GCHA is deeply gratified by the growing momentum on #climateandhealth, in top multilateral spaces – the UNFCCC, in the World Health Assembly. In both the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health, and the #WHA77 Climate Resolution, we applaud the call for investment to strengthen our #healthsystems to better respond to #climateimpacts; and we equally strongly support the recognition that protecting #health requires going far beyond the health sector, and that health must be at the table across sectors. We must note, however, that both the Declaration and the Resolution had one glaring omission, the failure to mention the root cause of climate change, the use of fossil fuels, and the profound conflict of interest represented by having the industries responsible for the climate crisis at the table for solving it. As Dr. Tedros remarked, during the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty announcement at COP28: if we do not speak about fossil fuels, we will not be able to fully address the climate crisis. As we look ahead to next steps, GCHA also notes the vital importance of building mechanisms for accountability, for all of the commitments taken. GCHA and the civil society organisations it represents therefore look forward to working with the WHO, the COP28 and COP29 presidencies, Member States, financial leaders, and others to rapidly deliver on the commitments that have been made, and to tackle the root causes of the climate crisis, for the sake of people’s health worldwide. (Picture by Audrey Wong from the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation)

#Bonn, 3 June 2024:- As the midyear UN #ClimateChange Conference opens today in Bonn, the Global Climate and Health Alliance is calling on governments to focus on health and health equity, as a spur to motivate significant progress on how the commitments made during last year’s COP28 negotiations will be delivered. #SB60 is an opportunity for governments to move to action in delivering on the COP28 call to transition away from fossil fuels; to define a path to track progress on adaptation in healthcare and other health-determining sectors; and consider how to ensure that “loss and damage” including health impacts are addressed. These transitions require substantial investment to support climate action in low and middle income countries, so governments in Bonn must also make progress towards agreeing a new climate finance target, called the New Collective Quantified Goal, by COP29 in November 2024. “Current national policies on greenhouse gas reduction have us on a pathway to nearly three degrees of warming. Those suffering the consequences of the failure to address climate change end up in our clinics, hospitals and health systems, as communities face extreme heat, flooding, drought and crop loss, and air pollution. It is imperative that countries deliver updated National Determined Contributions (NDCs) that align with the actions needed to protect and promote health”, said Dr Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://lnkd.in/egURENCF

The Global Climate and Health Alliance today welcomed the adoption of a landmark resolution on Climate Change and Health by 194 World Health Organization (WHO) member states during the World Health Assembly (#WHA77, May 27-June 1), which underlines climate change as a major threat to global public health, and sets out a framework to promote health and build climate-resilient and sustainable health systems. The key global health meeting took place just ahead of next week’s UN technical negotiations on climate in Bonn (#SB60). “Adoption of the Climate Change and Health resolution during this World Health Assembly demonstrates a clear political commitment by governments and WHO to scale up climate action as a public health priority in order to protect people from the increasing health impacts of climate change”, said Rosie Tasker, Clean Air Liaison at the Global Climate and Health Alliance. “Following years of calls for greater action by civil society organisations and the Director General and other senior leadership of WHO, the resolution also clearly connects health to climate mitigation, adaptation, and for the first time, loss and damage. Adoption of the resolution should now spur WHO and the global health community to respond to the challenges of the climate crisis, including working more closely with the UNFCCC, and building on the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health”. https://lnkd.in/d-_-xd7X

Latin America: People's #Health is endangered due to poor #ClimateAction and lack of commitments from the national governments in the region. We, as public health advocates, support Chile & Colombia request for an Advisory Opinion from Inter-American Court of Human Rights, so that States' responsibilities re. human impacts of climate change are clarified. 👉 Earlier this year, we submitted a “friend of the court” brief (Amicus Curiae) to inform the court’s decision-making. 🗝 In this article, we explain why we believe in: - The need of a common understanding of the convergence of climate change, human rights and health, to accelerate ambitious action nationally and internationally towards a just and healthy tomorrow, - The power of #publichealth #litigation to help drive the changes needed to deliver health, equity, and a sustainable environment for all in the region. A piece by Tara Benesch Jeni MillerMilena Sergeeva Daniel Wainstock- https://lnkd.in/diHeA9-G

🆕🌟On day 2 of #WHA77, WHO announced #climateandhealth as one of its six strategic objectives. This indicates both the: - The grave implications of #climatechange for all areas of WHO's work, - The opportunity for full integration of both issues in next 4 years (including with the establishment of solids indicators to measure impacts and progresses). Overall, a great move from WHO and an important moment for the Climate & Health community. We are looking forward to working together and we are expecting bold commitments from health ministries around the world.

“Adoption of the Climate Change and Health resolution during this World Health Assembly would demonstrate a clear political commitment by governments and WHO to scale up climate action as a public health priority in order to protect people from the increasing health impacts of climate change”, said Rosie Tasker, Clean Air Liaison at the Global Climate and Health Alliance. “Following years of calls for greater action by civil society organisations and the Director General and other senior leadership of WHO, the resolution also clearly connects health to climate mitigation, adaptation, and for the first time, loss and damage. If adopted this week, this resolution has enormous potential to influence how WHO and the global health community respond to the challenges of the climate crisis, including working more closely with the UNFCCC, and building on the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health”. https://lnkd.in/dtrajTzX #health #wha77 #climateaction

“Adoption of the Climate Change and Health resolution during this World Health Assembly would demonstrate a clear political commitment by governments and WHO to scale up climate action as a public health priority in order to protect people from the increasing health impacts of climate change”, said Rosie Tasker, Clean Air Liaison at the Global Climate and Health Alliance. “Following years of calls for greater action by civil society organisations and the Director General and other senior leadership of WHO, the resolution also clearly connects health to climate mitigation, adaptation, and for the first time, loss and damage. If adopted this week, this resolution has enormous potential to influence how WHO and the global health community respond to the challenges of the climate crisis, including working more closely with the UNFCCC, and building on the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health”. https://lnkd.in/dtrajTzX #health #wha77 #climateaction

⚡️There is a global momentum on #ClimateAndHealth (C&H) 1⃣COP28 Declaration on C&H, 2⃣World Health Assembly #WHA77 C&H Resolution, = With these 2 agreements to be adopted just 6 months apart, it's crucial for C&H communities to work together. 👉Join us today for a webinar organised by @CANIntl health working group  https://lnkd.in/dT5e2mKx