The health benefits of meeting climate change targets far outweigh its costs

 Health benefits of meeting climate change targets

    Reducing air pollution in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement would save nearly a million lives around the world annually by 2050. According to the most recent estimates by leading experts, the health benefits resulting from the fight against climate change would double the costs of global mitigation policies, and this cost / benefit ratio would be even higher in countries such as China and India.

In a report presented today at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP24) held in Katowice (Poland), the World Health Organization (WHO) explains that health aspects are a fundamental element in the promotion of measures against climate change, and provides important recommendations for policy makers.

Exposure to air pollution causes 7 million deaths annually worldwide, and according to estimates, results in losses of US $ 5.11 billion in welfare terms. It has been calculated that, in the 15 countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, the health consequences of air pollution represent more than 4% of GDP. To make the measures aimed at achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement a reality, around 1% of world GDP will have to be earmarked for this goal.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said: “Paris may be the greatest health agreement of the century. The data clearly show that climate change is already seriously affecting people's lives and health, because it jeopardizes the basic elements we need to stay healthy - the sanity of the air, the potability of the water, the safety of food and home security — and jeopardize decades of global public health progress. We cannot afford to keep waiting to act.

Human activities that destabilize the Earth's climate also directly cause health problems. The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change and is one of the main sources of air pollution.

As Dr. Maria Neira, Director of the WHO Department of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health, comments, “It is in our hospitals and our lungs that we can see the true cost of climate change. The damage to health from polluting energy sources is so serious that the cost effectiveness of replacing them with more sustainable and less polluting ways of obtaining energy and maintaining transportation and the food system cannot be doubted. When health is taken into account, climate change mitigation is not a cost, but an opportunity.

Shifting to low-carbon energy sources will not only improve air quality, it will contribute to immediate health benefits. For example, the introduction of active transport solutions, such as cycling, will help promote physical activity and thus prevent certain diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

The WHO Special Report to COP-24 on health and climate change (COP-24 Special Report: health and climate change) offers recommendations to governments to optimize health benefits by fighting climate change and to avoid the main effects on the health of this problem on a global scale.

The report presents the measures taken by countries around the world to protect their populations from the effects of climate change and also explains that, regrettably, funding remains insufficient, especially in small island developing States. and in the least developed countries. Human health protection projects have received only 0.5% of multilateral funds for adaptation to climate change.

The Pacific island countries, which emit only 0.03% of greenhouse gases, are among the most affected by its consequences. It is essential to act urgently and combat climate change to protect the health and lives of the population of these countries, taking into account the conclusions of the COP-24 held this week.

Dr. Joy St John, Deputy Director General for Climate and Other Determinants of Health, explains: “We know very well what we must improve to protect people's health from the effects of climate change: from health centers, to do them more sustainable and resilient, right down to alert systems for infectious disease outbreaks and extreme weather events. However, low investment prevents us from serving the most vulnerable populations.

In the report, all countries are asked toTake health into account in all cost-effectiveness analyzes of climate change mitigation. In addition, they are encouraged to offer tax incentives, such as carbon pricing and clean energy subsidies, to encourage relevant sectors to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Likewise, the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are urged to remove obstacles that affect the resilience of health systems to climate change.

WHO works with countries to:

Evaluate the health benefits that would accrue from national contributions to the Paris Agreement, as well as the additional benefits of implementing the even more ambitious measures needed to limit global warming to 2 ° C or 1.5 ° C.

Ensure the resilience of health systems to climate change, especially in the most vulnerable countries, such as small island developing states, and promote mitigation measures to obtain the maximum short- and long-term health benefits, as part of a special initiative on climate change and health in those countries, launched in collaboration with the UNFCCC secretariat and with Fiji, the country that chaired COP-23, and implemented by the Pacific Island States Plan of Action on Climate Change and Health.

Monitor the progress made by countries in protecting

health against climate change and the achievement of health benefits related to climate change mitigation measures, through the WHO / UNFCCC national profiles on climate change and health. These profiles, which have been carried out for 45 countries so far, should be expanded to 90 countries by the end of 2019.

WHO special report to COP24 on health and climate change

Recommendations:

Parties to the UNFCCC could take the following steps to move towards achieving climate, health and development goals:

Define and promote measures to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants, and include, in national contributions, specific commitments to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants.

Ensure that commitments to assess and protect health within the framework of

the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement are reflected in operational mechanisms at both the national and global levels.

Remove obstacles to investment in adaptation to climate change to protect human health, with particular attention to the environmental resilience of health systems and the capacity of health facilities to cope with climate-related risks.

Help the health community, civil society and health professionals to mobilize collectively to promote measures to resist climate change and obtain related health benefits.

Promote the role of cities and sub-national authorities in the fight against climate change for the benefit of health, within the framework of the UNFCCC.

Officially monitor health progress resulting from climate change measures and climate and health governance processes, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and report to the respect.

Include the health effects of mitigation and adaptation measures in economic and fiscal policies.