Sharm El-Sheikh, 6 November 2022:- As the COP27 Climate Summit opens this week in Egypt, the Global Climate and Health Alliance calls on governments to protect the health of people worldwide by developing a clear plan for delivering finance to lower income countries for the loss and damage caused by climate change, while committing to a deadline for a full and just fossil fuel phase-out.
“World leaders have two weeks to demonstrate the urgent action they will take to protect people’s health from the worst impacts of the climate crisis; this action must include a just and rapid phase out of fossil fuels, and the provision of financing to support low income countries in addressing climate change, including for mitigation, adaptation, and for loss and damage”, said Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance.
Loss and Damage
“During COP27, governments must establish a clear process for delivering finance to lower income countries for the loss and damage these countries are experiencing from climate change, including for the damage to people’s health, and to health systems”, said Miller. “As they respond to the impacts of a climate crisis not of their making – such as extreme weather events – vulnerable low income countries desperately need these funds to provide essential supports to protect the health and wellbeing of their citizens.”
Fossil Fuel Phase Out
“In Sharm El-Sheikh, governments must also commit to a deadline for full and just fossil fuel phase-out as a public health imperative, and define how this will be delivered”, said Miller. “Only a full phase out of fossil fuels will deliver the health benefits of cleaner air and protect people from the harm to their health caused by the extraction, transport, processing and burning of oil, gas and coal.”
In September 2022, the Global Climate and Health Alliance, which brings together over 130 health organisations from around the word to tackle climate change and to protect and promote public health, joined the World Health Organization and over 200 health organizations in calling on governments to urgently develop and implement a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to end global dependence on fossil fuels, in order to protect the health of people around the world.
Climate Finance
“At COP27, rich nations must immediately meet the long overdue $100B global climate finance goal to support low income countries in their climate mitigation and adaptation, including making up the shortfall in what was delivered between 2020-2021”, said Jess Beagley, Policy Lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance. “Half of this funding should be allocated to climate adaptation, and much greater investment must be made in health systems and programs.”
Health Metrics
“During the next two weeks of COP27 and in subsequent months, negotiators must integrate health metrics into the Global Goal on Adaptation and the Global Stocktake as key measures for assessing global progress on delivering the Paris Agreement”, said Beagley. “This is clear and immediate climate action that governments must take to protect people’s health and wellbeing.”
“While the climate catastrophe unfolds before our eyes, with countless impacts already affecting people’s health around the world, there are many clear, positive steps that governments can and must take”, said Miller. “Ending the fossil fuel era – and the health impacts and conflicts that it feeds – by providing massive public investment in cleaner forms of energy, such as wind and solar will ensure that people of all countries gain access to the energy they need, without having their health sacrificed to air pollution.”
“COP27 is the chance for world leaders to set the direction that ensures that the paths leading out of our current challenges – from massive flooding in Pakistan, to wars in Ukraine, Yemen, Ethiopia and elsewhere, to the global economic downturn – are all paths leading to a healthier and more sustainable future”, concluded Miller.
Contact:
For interviews with health professionals from around the world during COP27, contact Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, Global Climate and Health Alliance, +34 691 826 764 (Europe) – [email protected] is checked regularly.
Key Health Events at COP27:
- 9 November – 16:35 -17:25, Youth Pavilion – The Health Argument for Climate Justice and Intergenerational Equity, led by GCHA’s Youth Climate and Health Network
- 11th Nov – 14:00-15:15, WHO Pavilion – Fuelling Health Harms: The Human Costs of Fossil Fuels, led by GCHA. The event will live stream here.
- 18th Nov – 08:30 – 09:30, SDG Pavilion – A Just Energy Transition for a healthy fossil free world, led by Health and Climate Network (HCN) a cross sectoral network hosted by GCHA, with SLOCAT Partnership for Sustainable Transport and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Registration for online access here.
- Also the Health Networking Reception — 12th Nov – 17:30-22:00, Sultan Gardens Resort Sharm El Sheikh – COP 27 Climate and Health Networking Reception in collaboration with University of Colorado School of Medicine Climate and Health Program, Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, and the Climate and Health Foundation. Register here by 9th November.
- WHO 27 Health Pavilion: WHO in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust and partners will host the Health Pavilion at the COP27 UN Climate Conference, taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from 6 to 18 November, 2022.
- COP27 Climate and Health Networking Reception. A dinner reception to connect the global climate and health community at COP27, Sat, Nov 12, 2022 at 5:30 PM.
- Climate Resilient and Just Health Systems in Africa, Tue, November 15, 2:00pm – 3:15pm, WHO Pavilion, AMREF, ATACH, UK
Powering Past Coal Alliance: Fifth Anniversary Event, Canadian Pavilion, UNFCCC Blue Zone When: 15 November 2022 – 17:15-19:00 EET
About GCHA
The Global Climate and Health Alliance is the leading global convenor of health professional and health civil society organizations addressing climate change. We are a consortium of health organizations from around the world united by a shared vision of an equitable, sustainable future, in which the health impacts of climate change are minimized, and the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation are maximised.Find out more: https://climateandhealthalliance.org/about/