World Health Assembly: Health Professionals Demand Urgent Action On Climate Commitments
Geneva, 15 May 2025:- Ahead of next week's 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78), the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) is calling on all 194 World Health Organization (WHO) member states to urgently step up cross-sector cooperation on climate and health, and to implement last year's resolution on Climate Change and Health.
'With three formal discussions relevant to climate change scheduled for next week, this World Health Assembly must ensure that governments recognise and respond to the profound role that climate change and its primary driver, fossil fuels, now play in determining health outcomes for people around the world', said Global Climate and Health Alliance Executive Director Dr Jeni Miller.
Following last year's adoption of a World Health Assembly resolution on Climate Change and Health, the assembly is expected to adopt a global action plan (GAP) to take forward government commitments, and translate the resolution into action. Over the past year, WHO has consulted member states, as well as academia, community groups and civil society.
Key strengths of the most recent draft available of the GAP are a call for member states to integrate health into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) (countries' national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement) and integrate climate into national health strategies, policies and plans; a strong focus on maximising the health co-benefits of mitigation and adaptation activities across different government sectors; and a commitment to engage communities and civil society organisations in the development, implementation and evaluation of climate and health strategies.
However, the GAP fails to address the impact of fossil fuels on human health.
'Health provides the most compelling case for a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels, but their absence from important global strategy documents such as the Global Action Plan misses a key opportunity to emphasise these connections in the minds and policies of Governments around the world', said Rosie Tasker, Clean Air Liaison at the Global Climate and Health Alliance.
'Moreover, without action to mitigate climate change through reduction of fossil fuel use, the health impacts of climate change will soon outstrip the capacities of health systems to respond. To counter this, climate must become a core part of national health strategies, and health a key part of countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), including a stronger focus on vulnerable groups such as women and children, older adults, LGBTQ, refugee and migrant populations, and people with poor mental health or disabilities.'
'Recognising that these groups are most acutely affected, but are often missing from national climate and health responses, a focus on protecting the most vulnerable will be key to safeguarding the health gains made in recent decades', added Tasker.
'Despite some limitations in the Global Action Plan including its omission of the health impacts from fossil fuels, the Global Climate and Health Alliance calls for it to be adopted, putting in place an implementation plan for the climate and health commitments endorsed last year', said Miller. 'The GAP provides clear direction for a holistic and integrated approach to addressing climate change and health across sectors, which offers the best chance to protect human and planetary health.'
In addition to the Global Action Plan for the climate change resolution, two other items on the World Health Assembly agenda are important to climate and health - the proposed WHO roadmap on the health impacts of air pollution; and a resolution on Integrated Lung Health. The Roadmap maps out a path to achieve WHO's ambitious target, set during WHO's air pollution conference in March, of achieving a 50% reduction in the health impacts of air pollution by 2040. The Lung Health resolution likewise recognises the health impacts of air pollution and calls on governments to integrate clean air policies and education into their core work on tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer and asthma.
While both the Roadmap and the Lung Health resolution outline important actions for addressing the causes and health impacts of air pollution, they too both fail to address the role of fossil fuel combustion as a major driver of local air pollution, and the primary driver of global warming which in turn also aggravates air pollution. This misses a vital opportunity to achieve the sort of integrated, holistic, and comprehensive approach set out in the GAP.
'The Global Climate and Health Alliance welcomes the Global Action Plan on climate, the Roadmap on air pollution, and the resolution on lung health as valuable political and technical resources to support action', said Tasker. 'But there is a clear and urgent need for member states to join WHO in explicitly recognising the role of fossil fuels in contributing to lung disease, air pollution, and the climate crisis in order to effectively address them.The omission of fossil fuels highlights the increasing challenges that the WHO and the global health community are facing in driving evidence-based policy, in the face of strong economic and political pressure from industry'.
'The issues on the agenda are the regular business of a typical World Health Assembly, however this year's assembly is taking place under anything but typical conditions', added Miller.
On day one of his presidency, Donald Trump announced US withdrawal from WHO and pulling of US financial support [1]; and announced withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and pulled US financial support from the UNFCCC. These actions were quickly followed by gutting USAID, overnight shuttering global health programs and initiatives around the world, in countries in greatest need.
'Since taking office in January, the steps taken by the Trump Administration have shaken the global health community, and have compounded that with devastating actions aimed at stalling progress on addressing climate change', said Miller. 'To prevent the rolling back of decades of global health gains and momentum on climate and health will require a doubling down of commitment by the governments at the World Health Assembly that prioritise the health and well-being of their populations. Every willing government must unite and work together to protect the health and wellbeing of everyone on Earth'.
Notes:
1) Figures are a 2.5bn shortfall between 2025 and 2027, with around 1.8bn of that affecting the 2026-2027 budget (around 43%).
https://apps.who.int/gb/e/e_wha78.html
Event: Break the Fossil Influence:
Launching a Health-Led Call for Fossil-Free Communications
Date: 8 am - 9.30 am, 22 May, 2025
Venue: Geneva Press Club (directions) - and livestreamed (website)
As the health harms of fossil fuels—from toxic air to climate-driven disasters—grow more severe, so does the urgency for the health community to lead with clarity, courage, and conscience. Join us for the official launch of the Break the Fossil Influence – Fossil-Free Health Communications Campaign, a groundbreaking initiative calling on health organizations to cut ties with PR and ad agencies that work with the fossil fuel industry.
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