COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health

December 7, 2023

The COP28 Presidency, in partnership with the World Health Organization and UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, unveiled the ‘COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health’, in recognition of the negative impacts of climate change on health.
Endorsed by 123 countries, the Declaration marks a world first in governments acknowledging the growing health impacts of climate change on communities and countries.
- India has not signed it.
The declaration was announced at the World Climate Action Summit.
- Every year, annual deaths from polluted air affect about 9 million people and 189 million people are exposed to weather-related events each year.
Signatories to the Declaration commit to pursue objectives including-
- strengthening the development and implementation of policies that maximise the health gains from mitigation and adaptation actions and prevent worsening health impacts from climate change;
- improving the ability of health systems to anticipate, and implement adaptation interventions against,
- climate-sensitive disease and health risks;
- promoting steps to curb emissions and reduce waste in the health sector; and
- encouraging the scaling up of investments in climate and health from a variety of sources.
A set of new finance commitments on climate and health was announced to back up these political commitments, including a USD 300 million commitment by the Global Fund to prepare health systems, USD 100 million by the Rockefeller Foundation to scale up climate and health solutions, and an announcement by the UK Government of up to GBP 54 million.
For the first time, Health Ministers are attending the annual UN climate conference alongside their peers from Environment Ministries.