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Scoop
3 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
World Health Assembly: Health Community Hails Adoption Of Climate & Health Action Plan, But Slams Fossil Fuel Omissions
Geneva, 27 May 2025 The Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) today welcomed the adoption by the World Health Organization's 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) of the Global Action Plan (GAP), which will take forward last year's Resolution on Climate Change and Health, while criticising the removal of mention of fossil fuel subsidies from the text. 'We welcome the adoption of the Global Action Plan as a crucial tool for protecting human life from the impacts of climate change', said Rosie Tasker, Clean Air Liaison at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, which is made up of more than 200 organisations addressing climate change. 'This important milestone was only made possible by significant efforts by the co-facilitators and regional leaders from governments, supported by the health community'. 'However, the absence of any mention of the impacts of fossil fuels or the need for fossil fuel subsidy reform misses a key opportunity to emphasise these connections in the minds and policies of governments around the world', added Tasker. 'Crucially, its adoption marks the start of a new phase where governments and WHO are committing to accelerated action on climate and health.' Key strengths of the Global Action Plan include 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 plan's path to adoption was made difficult by a number of member states calling for postponement, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia, Bahrain, Venezuela, supported by other countries from the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean region that have been calling for the plan's postponement. But, over the course of discussions on Monday afternoon, these voices were far outweighed by more than 60 countries who took to the floor to share why it was critical to adopt the global action plan. A small number of high-income countries, including the UK, Germany, Australia and Japan, supported the action plan as a whole, but officially noted their objections to language on Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capacities (CBDR-RC), a concept included in the Paris Agreement, which calls for global solidarity in climate change responses. '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', said Tasker. 'To counter this, governments must make climate a core part of national health strategies, and health a key part of countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); governments must include 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.' 'The adoption of the Global Plan of Action means that governments must now recognise and respond to the profound role that climate change and its primary driver, fossil fuels, play in determining health outcomes for people around the world', concluded Tasker. About GCHA The Global Climate and Health Alliance is a consortium of more than 200 health professional and health civil society organisations and networks from around the world addressing climate change. We are united by a shared vision of an equitable, sustainable future, in which the health impacts of climate change are minimised, and the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation are maximised.
Scoop
24-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Over 30 Health Organisations Shun PR And Ad Agencies That Work For Fossil Fuel Industry
Press Release – Global Climate and Health Alliance To support more organisations in making the Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, the Global Climate and Health Alliance has published Break the Fossil Influence – Guidance for Health Organizations to Screen PR & Media Agencies. Geneva, 22 May 2025:- Thirty influential health organisations representing the interests of over 12 million health professionals worldwide — including major global health voices and health professional associations at the international, national, and regional levels—have signed a commitment to no longer work with PR and ad agencies that also provide services to the fossil fuel industry. The organisations have signed up to the Break the Fossil Influence – Fossil-Free Health Communications campaign, which launched today during the World Health Assembly (WHA 78) in Geneva. Organisations that have made the commitment include Amref Health Africa, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), The Lancet, along with the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations, (IFMSA), the World Federation of Public Health Association(WFPHA), World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA), Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC). To support more organisations in making the Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, the Global Climate and Health Alliance has published Break the Fossil Influence – Guidance for Health Organizations to Screen PR & Media Agencies. 'Fossil fuels are making people sick—and the companies behind them are spending millions on advertising and PR to cover it up', said Shweta Narayan, Campaign Lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, which developed the initiative. 'The same PR firms spreading fossil fuel disinformation are also working with health organizations—a clear conflict of interest for health. Through the Break the Fossil Influence – Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, health organizations are leading by example by cutting ties with agencies that provide services to the fossil fuel industry.' 'Health organizations have great power that they can bring to bear in their hiring of advertising, marketing, and design companies by choosing to work only with agencies that do not take money from fossil fuel companies', said Jeni Miller, Global Executive Director of Climate and Health Alliance. 'The Fossil-Free Health Communications Commitment is a way for the health sector to show leadership not just by speaking out or by making their own operations sustainable and climate resilient, but by refusing to work with businesses that support polluters.' 'Just like health leaders once stood up to Big Tobacco and its advertising, it's time to stand up to Big Oil', continued Miller. 'By making the Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, organizations are demonstrating that they won't help spread fossil fuel disinformation, and will use every tool they have, including their ad and PR dollars to protect people's health and the planet.' 'Ad and PR agencies should listen to the overwhelming medical evidence of the harm of fossil fuels, and drop polluting clients immediately. Fossil fuel pollution is a threat to every aspect of human health, and incompatible with the business goals of the rest of the ad industry', said Duncan Meisel, Executive Director, Clean Creatives. 'The organisations signing this new commitment are laying down an important marker for the entire health sector: agencies with fossil fuel clients have a clear conflict of interest for any company trying to protect human health.' Fossil fuels are making people sick—and the companies behind them are spending millions on advertising and PR to cover it up. The Break the Fossil Influence – Fossil-Free Health Communications campaign is calling on health organizations to lead by example: to stop working with PR and ad agencies that also work for the fossil fuel industry. 'It is important as a health industry to make a stand, like we did during the anti-tobacco campaign, that we will not engage with PR companies and advertising agencies that are assisting fossil fuel companies to conceal the truth. And by doing so, we will force them to make the right choice. And the right choice is a choice for health and for healthy communities.' – Dr Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO, Amref Health Africa 'As health professionals guided by humanitarian values, we have a responsibility to speak out when public health is under threat. Fossil fuels are at the heart of a growing global health crisis, and the PR and advertising firms that help obscure this reality undermine efforts to protect lives. We call on our peers and institutions to reconsider partnerships with agencies that serve fossil fuel interests. Aligning our communications with our mission is essential to safeguarding health and maintaining public trust.' – Dr Maria Guevara, International Medical Secretary for Médecins Sans Frontières 'We, the health community, have a duty to warn humanity about the profound health harms being created by burning fossil fuels—including from air pollution and climate change—and to act on that knowledge. The public relations and advertising agencies that represent fossil fuel companies—coal, oil, and gas companies—are aiding and abetting these profound harms to public health. We must take a stand by refusing to work with any marketing agency that works with fossil fuel companies. Our duty, our integrity, and our credibility demand nothing less'. – Edward Maibach, Director, George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication and Member, National Academy of Medicine and Former Worldwide Director of Social Marketing, Porter Novelli 'As nurses, we recognize climate change as one of the greatest public health threats of our time. Every day, health professionals around the world are taking care of patients with health conditions like asthma, problems with pregnancies, cardiac issues, and more, that are exacerbated by climate change driven by fossil fuel pollution. For decades, fossil fuel companies have misled the public and obstructed climate action. As health professionals and health organizations, we need to hold ourselves to the highest standards and should not do business with PR and communications firms that also work with fossil fuel companies. Their history of disinformation has no place within the healthcare community.' – Katie Huffling, Executive Director, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments 'As family doctors, we see how air pollution and climate change, driven by fossil fuels, harm our patients' health daily. We must advocate for a rapid, just transition to clean energy for the sake of current and future generations.' – Prof Karen Flegg, President, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) 'As health leaders we want to breathe life into solutions to climate change so we can safeguard health, wellbeing and life. We need to turn off the oxygen of the fossil fuel industry and the communication they use to deceive and persist.' – Michele Isles, CEO, Climate and Health Alliance, Australia 'The climate crisis is a health crisis, and Canada is already experiencing its effects – from wildfires to extreme weather and rising insurance costs. Health, housing, food, and financial security are all at risk. Governments must act with courage and urgency. Yet, the fossil fuel industry – supported by misleading advertising and public relations tactics, much like those once used by the tobacco industry – continues to sow confusion and delay meaningful action. As health professionals and system leaders, we must cut ties with advertising and PR agencies that serve the fossil fuel industry. We must make it clear that we care about health – and we do not want their services. Join the Break the Fossil Influence campaign – and demand fossil-free health communications.' – Doris Grinspun, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) 'In a world on fire, health professionals must lead with truth. We cannot claim to protect life while partnering with those who profit from its destruction. It's time for the climate and health community to cut ties with the PR machines fueling fossil fuel deception—because silence is complicity, and health demands courage.' — Dr. Kate Wylie, CEO, Doctors for the Environment Australia
Scoop
24-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Over 30 Health Organisations Shun PR And Ad Agencies That Work For Fossil Fuel Industry
Geneva, 22 May 2025:- Thirty influential health organisations representing the interests of over 12 million health professionals worldwide — including major global health voices and health professional associations at the international, national, and regional levels—have signed a commitment to no longer work with PR and ad agencies that also provide services to the fossil fuel industry. The organisations have signed up to the Break the Fossil Influence - Fossil-Free Health Communications campaign, which launched today during the World Health Assembly (WHA 78) in Geneva. Organisations that have made the commitment include Amref Health Africa, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), The Lancet, along with the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations, (IFMSA), the World Federation of Public Health Association(WFPHA), World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA), Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC). To support more organisations in making the Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, the Global Climate and Health Alliance has published Break the Fossil Influence - Guidance for Health Organizations to Screen PR & Media Agencies. 'Fossil fuels are making people sick—and the companies behind them are spending millions on advertising and PR to cover it up', said Shweta Narayan, Campaign Lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, which developed the initiative. 'The same PR firms spreading fossil fuel disinformation are also working with health organizations—a clear conflict of interest for health. Through the Break the Fossil Influence – Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, health organizations are leading by example by cutting ties with agencies that provide services to the fossil fuel industry.' 'Health organizations have great power that they can bring to bear in their hiring of advertising, marketing, and design companies by choosing to work only with agencies that do not take money from fossil fuel companies', said Jeni Miller, Global Executive Director of Climate and Health Alliance. 'The Fossil-Free Health Communications Commitment is a way for the health sector to show leadership not just by speaking out or by making their own operations sustainable and climate resilient, but by refusing to work with businesses that support polluters.' 'Just like health leaders once stood up to Big Tobacco and its advertising, it's time to stand up to Big Oil', continued Miller. 'By making the Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, organizations are demonstrating that they won't help spread fossil fuel disinformation, and will use every tool they have, including their ad and PR dollars to protect people's health and the planet.' 'Ad and PR agencies should listen to the overwhelming medical evidence of the harm of fossil fuels, and drop polluting clients immediately. Fossil fuel pollution is a threat to every aspect of human health, and incompatible with the business goals of the rest of the ad industry', said Duncan Meisel, Executive Director, Clean Creatives. 'The organisations signing this new commitment are laying down an important marker for the entire health sector: agencies with fossil fuel clients have a clear conflict of interest for any company trying to protect human health.' Fossil fuels are making people sick—and the companies behind them are spending millions on advertising and PR to cover it up. The Break the Fossil Influence - Fossil-Free Health Communications campaign is calling on health organizations to lead by example: to stop working with PR and ad agencies that also work for the fossil fuel industry. 'It is important as a health industry to make a stand, like we did during the anti-tobacco campaign, that we will not engage with PR companies and advertising agencies that are assisting fossil fuel companies to conceal the truth. And by doing so, we will force them to make the right choice. And the right choice is a choice for health and for healthy communities.' - Dr Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO, Amref Health Africa 'As health professionals guided by humanitarian values, we have a responsibility to speak out when public health is under threat. Fossil fuels are at the heart of a growing global health crisis, and the PR and advertising firms that help obscure this reality undermine efforts to protect lives. We call on our peers and institutions to reconsider partnerships with agencies that serve fossil fuel interests. Aligning our communications with our mission is essential to safeguarding health and maintaining public trust.' - Dr Maria Guevara, International Medical Secretary for Médecins Sans Frontières 'We, the health community, have a duty to warn humanity about the profound health harms being created by burning fossil fuels—including from air pollution and climate change—and to act on that knowledge. The public relations and advertising agencies that represent fossil fuel companies—coal, oil, and gas companies—are aiding and abetting these profound harms to public health. We must take a stand by refusing to work with any marketing agency that works with fossil fuel companies. Our duty, our integrity, and our credibility demand nothing less'. - Edward Maibach, Director, George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication and Member, National Academy of Medicine and Former Worldwide Director of Social Marketing, Porter Novelli 'As nurses, we recognize climate change as one of the greatest public health threats of our time. Every day, health professionals around the world are taking care of patients with health conditions like asthma, problems with pregnancies, cardiac issues, and more, that are exacerbated by climate change driven by fossil fuel pollution. For decades, fossil fuel companies have misled the public and obstructed climate action. As health professionals and health organizations, we need to hold ourselves to the highest standards and should not do business with PR and communications firms that also work with fossil fuel companies. Their history of disinformation has no place within the healthcare community.' - Katie Huffling, Executive Director, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments 'As family doctors, we see how air pollution and climate change, driven by fossil fuels, harm our patients' health daily. We must advocate for a rapid, just transition to clean energy for the sake of current and future generations.' - Prof Karen Flegg, President, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) 'As health leaders we want to breathe life into solutions to climate change so we can safeguard health, wellbeing and life. We need to turn off the oxygen of the fossil fuel industry and the communication they use to deceive and persist.' - Michele Isles, CEO, Climate and Health Alliance, Australia 'The climate crisis is a health crisis, and Canada is already experiencing its effects – from wildfires to extreme weather and rising insurance costs. Health, housing, food, and financial security are all at risk. Governments must act with courage and urgency. Yet, the fossil fuel industry – supported by misleading advertising and public relations tactics, much like those once used by the tobacco industry – continues to sow confusion and delay meaningful action. As health professionals and system leaders, we must cut ties with advertising and PR agencies that serve the fossil fuel industry. We must make it clear that we care about health – and we do not want their services. Join the Break the Fossil Influence campaign – and demand fossil-free health communications.' - Doris Grinspun, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) 'In a world on fire, health professionals must lead with truth. We cannot claim to protect life while partnering with those who profit from its destruction. It's time for the climate and health community to cut ties with the PR machines fueling fossil fuel deception—because silence is complicity, and health demands courage.' — Dr. Kate Wylie, CEO, Doctors for the Environment Australia
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
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 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%). 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.
