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On the margins of the COP26 UN climate change conference, the 2021 Global Conference on Health & Climate Change, led by WHO, will convene on 6th November. The aim of the conference is to bring attention for the need of a green, healthy and resilient recovery from COVID-19. It will also mobilize the rapidly growing movement of health professionals around the world who are now driving ambitious climate action.
Over 90% of the world's urban population breathes air containing levels of pollutants that exceed the World Health Organizations’s guidelines. Two-thirds of this exposure to outdoor pollution results from the burning of the fossil fuels that are driving climate change.
A warming climate will worsen air quality. If current emissions continue, ground-level ozone events are expected to intensify, especially in densely populated areas, leading to more respiratory illness. In certain areas, the frequency and extent of wildfires – and with them, emissions of particulate matter and other pollutants – are projected to increase.
Concerted action is therefore required at all levels of government. Under the Paris Agreement, each country regularly submits reports on its activities to mitigate climate change, but they are not required to report on short-lived pollutants, even though it will probably be impossible to meet the targets of the Agreement unless those emissions are reduced. This must change.
Growing public awareness of the health burden associated with air pollution could be the catalyst for collective ambition to mitigate climate change. Greater coordination among the health, energy, transport, agriculture and urban planning sectors will be necessary to set priorities that ensure maximum benefits for both health and climate.
As part of the conference, a special COP26 report titled: The Health Argument for Climate Action is set be launched— an update from the COP24 version— which will include 10 recommendations from the health community on how a green recovery from COVID-19 can drive an ambitious Paris Agreement renewal. The 10 recommendations propose a set of priority actions, including reimagining urban environments, transport, and mobility and harnessing the health benefits of
climate action.
From the BreatheLife campaign to the global health community, governments and policy makers, it is time to act with urgency on the current climate and health crises.
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