WHO Director General's remarks at COP29: The Health Argument for Climate Action Special focus on maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health 13 November 2024

Your Excellency President Pedro Sánchez,

Former President Alain Berset,

Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

Thank you all for joining us today.

Let me begin by asking you a question: why does climate change matter?

Why should we care about rising temperatures and sea levels?

Why should we care about extreme weather events?

Why should we care about air pollution?

We care because ultimately, climate change is about human health, as President Pedro Sanchez said.

We care about rising sea levels and temperatures because they take land and homes, they make our planet less habitable, they contribute to cardiovascular disease, and they fuel the spread of communicable diseases to new places.

We care about extreme weather events because they take lives and livelihoods, and damage infrastructure;

And we care about air pollution because it fills our lungs with poison.

That's why we say the climate crisis is a health crisis.

And this crisis is not sometime in the future. It's right here and now.

We're all affected, but women and children bear the heaviest burden.

Air pollution is responsible for 7 million premature deaths a year and is among the leading contributing factors to under 5-mortality;

920 million children face water scarcity;

Food insecurity and malnutrition harm the development of children in the womb and in their early years;

Rising temperatures drive the spread of infectious diseases like malaria;

Last year, people faced, on average, a record 50 more days of health-threatening heat;

More than 20 million people were internally displaced due to weather-related disasters,

And by 2050, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into extreme poverty - 16 million more than men and boys.

Climate action is therefore critical to the health of children and the future of humanity.

Or to put it another way, climate action is self-preservation; and climate inaction is self-sabotage.

WHO's COP29 special report on climate change and health estimates that 1.9 million premature deaths could be averted by scaling up five evidence-based interventions:

Early warning systems for extreme heat;

Powering health facilities with solar energy;

Water, sanitation and hygiene;

Cleaner household energy;

And fiscal policies on fossil fuel subsidies.

Realising these benefits requires action to protect people, place and planet.

First, protecting people means prioritizing equity, human rights, and a just energy transition;

And it means building climate-friendly and climate-resilient health systems, supported by a fit-for-purpose global health workforce.

Through the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health, or ATACH, WHO is bringing together 90 countries and over 70 partners to drive increased action in climate change and health at the country level.

Second, protecting place means making the cities and communities in which we live environments that nurture health, instead of harming it.

That means stewardship to foster healthy environments across cities and the natural world - through clean energy, zero-emissions transport, smart infrastructure, and protecting the natural systems fundamental to healthy lives, food systems and livelihoods.

Third, protecting planet means transforming financial systems to move away from extraction and towards well-being.

And it means bold governance that includes the needs and voices of the most-affected communities, including children.

President Sánchez, dear colleagues,

There is no stronger argument for climate action than health;

And there is no stronger motivation for climate action than the health of our children.

Thank you all for your commitment to protecting people, place and planet, for a healthier world now, and in the future we leave our children.

Finally, I would like to recognize Maria Neira - a force of nature - for putting health and climate on the map.

Muchas gracias. I thank you.

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