Despite facing unprecedented global challenges, including record-high temperatures and widespread natural disasters, COP28 showcased significant progress in health-focused climate action. However, it's evident that the commitments and actions from COP28 fall short of adequately addressing the scale of the climate crisis.
In a recent opinion piece published in BMJ, Shweta Narayan, Health Care Without Harm’s International climate and health campaigner, Jess Beagley, policy lead at Global Climate and Health Alliance, and Sarah Whitmee at Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, delve into the critical role of the health community in addressing the climate crisis.
"The health community has a responsibility to ensure that decisions at COP28 are translated into healthy outcomes and are built on in future years. The health community must continue to call for the phase-out of fossil fuels and a just transition to renewable energy. This must promote actions that offer greenhouse gas mitigation alongside health co-benefits, such as improved air quality and avoiding unproven technological distractions," the authors explain.