Our History
UN Photo/Martine Perret – UN Photo Agency
The Global Climate and Health Alliance was formed in Durban in 2011 to tackle climate change and to protect and promote public health.
The Alliance is made up of health and development organizations from around the world united by a shared vision of an equitable, sustainable future. Our vision is a world in which the health impacts of climate change are kept to a minimum, and the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation are maximised.
Specifically, Alliance members work together to:
- Ensure that health impacts are integrated into global, regional, national and local policy responses to climate change so as to reduce them as far as possible, with a particular focus on reducing health inequalities through mitigation and adaptation;
- Encourage and support the health sector to lead by example, in mitigating and adapting to climate change;
- Raise awareness of the health threats posed by climate change and the potential health benefits of well-chosen climate mitigation policies in areas such as energy, transport, food and housing.
The Alliance does this through:
- Providing leadership
- Advocating for health and climate
- Policy and research
- Engaging and informing
The Alliance was launched following the inaugural Climate and Health summit, which took place in 2011 during the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Health organizations: become an Alliance member!
GCHA on Twitter