The global health equity community is bustling with pride as the first-ever Health Day at COP28 put the spotlight on health equity, policy and recommended solutions amid the drastic health impacts flowing from the climate crisis. With the upsurge in chronic and infectious diseases sparked by climate change, health equity advocates are lauding COP28’s most significant ever inclusion of health throughout the agenda of the annual conference.
The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) is the 28th such UN conference and is being held this year from November 30 to December 12, 2023. Established primarily for governments to congregate and concur on policies to address climate change, significant momentum has emerged to highlight the extent to which the climate crisis has become a calamitous public health emergency.
December 3rd marked the first Health Day at the COP conferences. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 250,000 individuals die annually as a result of climate change, including from pollution, increasing temperatures, and severe weather. Additionally, food and water security issues are contributing materially to negative health outcomes, such as a higher incidence of infectious diseases to heat-related illnesses and poor maternal health.
Interestingly, while the health care industry’s objective is to enhance individuals’ well-being, the sector is the cause of roughly five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. COP28 participants are, therefore, promulgating recommendations that include meaningful changes, including decarbonizing health systems and investing in biodiversity. The moves are aimed at restricting global warming to enhance health outcomes, particularly for historically marginalized and underrepresented populations.
The key topics and features of the COP28 Health Day can be found here. Given the depth and breadth of the interconnectedness of climate change and health, we expect Health Day to remain a central part of the COP conferences in the years ahead.
