“The climate crisis is a health crisis – not in the distant future, but here and now,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
According to statement in UN News, he was summarising a special report that warned that one in 12 hospitals could face climate-related shutdowns. It calls for urgent action to protect health systems in a rapidly warming world.
“This special report provides evidence on the impact of climate change on individuals and health systems, and real-world examples of what countries can do – and are doing – to protect health and strengthen health systems.”
Global temperatures are already above 1.5°C. The report finds that 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in areas highly vulnerable to climate impacts, while hospitals face a 41 per cent higher risk of damage from extreme weather compared to 1990.
Without rapid decarbonisation, the number of health facilities at risk could double by mid-century. The health sector itself contributes around 5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring the need for a swift transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient systems.
The report highlights stark gaps in health adaptation planning:
- Only 54 per cent of national health adaptation plans assess risks to health facilities.
- Fewer than 30 per cent consider income disparities.
- Just 20 per cent take gender into account.
- Less than 1 per cent include people with disabilities.
Progress has been made – the number of countries with multi-hazard early warning systems doubled between 2015 and 2023 – but coverage remains uneven, especially in least developed countries and small island states.
Adding momentum, a coalition of more than 35 philanthropies today pledged $300 million to accelerate solutions at the intersection of climate and health.
The Climate and Health Funders Coalition – which includes Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Gates Foundation, IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Wellcome – will back innovations, policies and research on extreme heat, air pollution and climate-sensitive diseases, as well as strengthen health systems and data integration. Find out more here.
The coalition’s inaugural funding effort supports the Belém Health Action Plan and aims to deliver “no-regret” interventions that save lives now. With the past decade the hottest on record and temperatures set to remain near historic highs, experts warn that failure to act risks catastrophic consequences for human health.
UN News spoke with Ethel Maciel, COP30’s special envoy for health and one of the architects of the Belém Health Action Plan. She stressed that climate change is no longer a distant threat – it is reshaping health systems now.
