Santa Marta, 30 April 2026:- Following the Santa Marta Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, Dr Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, a consortium of over 250 health organisations, said:
“In Santa Marta, national leaders came together for the first time to seriously tackle the root cause of climate change, fossil fuels – an important and positive step towards improving the fate and health of everyone on earth, and for generations to come. But to be truly meaningful, the work done in Santa Marta must be rapidly followed with international agreements to transition away from fossil fuels, and to create the conditions that support nations transitioning; and toward bold national leadership by countries demonstrating action.”
“These efforts, in themselves, are positive steps for health, yet leaders at the conference overlooked a critical component of the conversation – they did not address people’s health”, continued Miller.
No mention of health: Co-Host Takeaways on the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels
“When the health harms of fossil fuels and the economic costs of those impacts on health are taken into account, fossil fuels are no longer a practical, or economic, or adaptive choice, they are a toxic relic of a previous era. Putting the health of every person at the center of the conversation makes crystal clear that we must end fossil fuel dependence – decision-makers must act to protect people and the planet from the damage they cause.”
“The planet is currently experiencing an unprecedented surge in extreme weather, including record heatwaves, floods, and food system shocks”, said Miller. “These events signal a rapidly destabilizing climate system: temperatures in South and Southeast Asia are currently 45 to 46°C. Heat stress has made hundreds of days unsafe for outdoor work and is pushing the limits of human survivability. Meanwhile communities around the world suffer the toxic impacts of fossil fuel-caused air pollution, and the toxic contamination of water and soil, and of the plastics that now surround us. The growth of renewable energy shows us that alternatives exist. The health costs of fossil fuel harms, and the global tally of fossil fuel subsidies, show that fossil fuels are no longer affordable.”
- Report: Cradle to Grave: The Health Toll of Fossil Fuels and the Imperative for a Just Transition
- View the Global Climate and Health Alliance submission to the Santa Marta conference
ENDS
Contact:
Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, Global Climate and Health Alliance, [email protected], +34 691 826 764 (Available from 0630 CET)
About GCHA
The Global Climate and Health Alliance is a consortium of more than 250 health professional and health civil society organisations and networks from around the world addressing climate change. We are united by a shared vision of an equitable, sustainable future, in which the health impacts of climate change are minimised, and the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation are maximised.
Find out more: https://climateandhealthalliance.org/who-we-are/about/
