To: World Health Organization
The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) is grateful for the opportunity to provide input on the WHO’s COP29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health. We recognise the urgent need to frame climate change as the foremost health issue of our time and support the consistent integration of health considerations into climate action. We commend the WHO for its leadership in tackling these critical issues and endorse the focus on emission reductions, air pollution, and urban centres in climate and health strategies. EPHA also underscores the importance of reducing the healthcare sector’s substantial carbon footprint and continuing to empower health professionals as key advocates in climate action. We urge the WHO to continue driving ambitious and concrete measures to decarbonise and enhance the sustainability of the healthcare sector, while mobilising it as a central force in global climate efforts – both crucial to reducing emissions and strengthening resilience to climate impacts.
Our comments focus on expanding the discussion to include food systems beyond the current focus on cities, broadening the perspective on urban environmental health, reassessing key energy sources within the climate-health nexus, and centering considerations on health equity across the report, with energy poverty as a key area for action. We believe that addressing these areas is essential for a holistic approach to mitigating climate change and enhancing global public health.