HQ Team
November 6, 2022: In the two decades starting 2030, climate change may result in 250,000 new deaths yearly from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress, the WHO warns.
“The direct damage costs to health, excluding charges in health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water and sanitation, is estimated to be between US$ 2–4 billion per year by 2030, a WHO report states.
“On the eve of the pivotal climate talks at COP27, the World Health Organization issues a grim reminder that the climate crisis continues to make people sick and jeopardizes lives and that health must be at the core of these critical negotiations,” according to a statement.
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference is the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, or COP27.
Sharm El Sheikh
It is being held as the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt starting on November 6 and ending on November 18.
WHO wants the conference to conclude with progress on the four key goals of mitigation, adaptation, financing and collaboration to tackle the climate crisis.
“COP27 will be a crucial opportunity for the world to come together and re-commit to keeping the 1.5 °C Paris Agreement goal alive,” according to the statement.
Our focus will be placing the health threat from the climate crisis and the substantial health gains from more decisive climate action at the centre of discussions.
Health at centre
Climate policy must now put health at the centre and promote climate change mitigation policies that bring health benefits simultaneously.
Health-focused climate policy would help bring about a planet that has cleaner air, more abundant and safer fresh water and food, and more effective and fairer health and social protection systems.
Investment in clean energy will yield health gains that repay those investments twice over.
There are proven interventions able to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, for instance applying higher standards for vehicle emissions.
The cost of renewable sources of energy has decreased significantly in the last few years, and solar energy is now cheaper than coal or gas in most major economies, the report states.
