COP24 Special Report: Health and Climate Change

This report from the World Health Organization (WHO) presents current evidence on the relationship between climate change and health, provides an overview of initiatives and tools supporting sustainable climate action, and shares recommendations on how to maximize the health benefits of addressing climate change. Issued during the COP24 negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), the report underscores the impact of climate change on human lives and health. It reviews the 2015 Paris Agreement, wherein nations committed to developing global climate goals that, in turn, would improve health through sustainable development.

There are a wide range of health benefits from tackling climate change, that spread across multiple sectors. For example, supporting mass transit can improve air quality, increase physical activity, reduce road traffic injuries, and reduce noise pollution. Other sectors for improvement are agriculture and food systems, energy, and household and buildings. The report explores ways to build climate-resilient health systems, mobilize the health community, and ensure economic support, underscoring the importance of monitoring progress on health and climate change. The report concludes with a set of recommendations to advance the overall objectives for improving climate, health, and development: “climate-smart” health facilities, engagement at city and community levels, inclusion of health implications in economic policy design, and systematic tracking of progress in health from climate mitigation and adaption.