To say that action on climate change is urgent is almost an understatement. This is almost a mantra, which seems even rhetorical, since the facts are irrefutable. On December 3, COP28 will focus on health as the main topic of debate, but current scenarios could not be further away from targeted policy responses. Latest data published a few days ago Lancet countdown show how heat-related mortality is increasing in the most vulnerable age groups, especially the oldest: it rises by 85% among people over 65 between 2013 and 2022. The world’s land area affected by severe droughts has increased from 18% in 1951-60. to 47% in 2013–2022, which will have consequences for communities that see their livelihoods completely reduced. According to the United Nations, an additional 600 million people are expected to suffer from hunger in 2030. The latest World Bank data shows that unless immediate and decisive action is taken, climate change could displace an estimated 216 million people by 2050. .

On the disease front, malaria cases are on the rise, as documented by the WHO in a report released this week. We have grown from 233 million cases reported in 2019 to 249 million in 2022. Disease transmission increases due to changes in temperature, and in the case of malaria, the burden can be influenced by humidity, precipitation, extreme events such as heat waves and floods. diseases. On the other hand, pollution caused by burning fossil fuels has a direct impact on health, causing patients to suffer from asthma, allergies, or respiratory and heart diseases. An estimated 6.5 million people die each year worldwide due to air pollution, and this number is growing.

These are some of the evidences of the impacts of climate change on health and ecosystems. This is why health must be at the center of negotiations at COP28. There are many voices that advocate that the climate crisis is a public health emergency and the WHO must act accordingly, as well as take this into account in other important negotiations that are taking place at the moment, such as the Pandemic Treaty that will govern future healthcare. crises.

The fossil fuel industry has no place in climate negotiations, just as the tobacco industry has no place in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

However, despite these health impacts, energy-related CO2 emissions rose 0.9% in 2022 to an all-time high, making it increasingly impossible to meet the Paris commitments to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 to 2 degrees. . And if that weren’t enough, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published that global fossil fuel subsidies hit a record $7 trillion in 2022, up $2 trillion from 2020.

Changing this scenario would prevent fossil fuel industry interests from gaining a seat in climate negotiations in the first place, just as the tobacco industry is prevented from participating in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Adding to the lobby’s cap is an increase in climate change funding, starting with meeting the $100 billion that was allocated for 2020. Without money, it will be impossible to implement the adaptation and mitigation policies that are so necessary and indispensable. So far, more than 400 million has been allocated to the Loss and Damage Fund for Least Developed Countries, one of the most important demands and announced on the same day as the opening of COP28, which will be managed by the World Bank. This is undoubtedly just the beginning, but developing countries estimate that the amount that this fund will require exceeds $100 billion. A study of 20 of the most vulnerable economies estimated losses of more than 500 billion between 2000 and 2019 as a result of changes in temperature and rainfall patterns.

We will see what the outcome of this summit is and, although with skepticism, we continue to speak out in the hope that a commitment to common interests and the planet, as well as a will to be ethical, will guide the decisions of many politicians. Because history will remember them for these decisions.

_____________

Irene Bernal PhD. is the Advocacy and Research Manager at Salud por Derecho.