{"id":60113308,"date":"2025-12-16T11:44:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T11:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60113308"},"modified":"2025-12-19T15:25:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T15:25:23","slug":"roundtable-did-cop30-do-enough-for-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/roundtable-did-cop30-do-enough-for-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Roundtable: Did COP30 do enough for health?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Climate change and human health are not separate issues. The consequences of humanity’s emissions will impact the health of millions of people, regardless of future emission cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a CATCH story<\/p>

This story is part of Dialogue Earth\u2019s work on the Community Adaptations to City Heat (CATCH) project, in partnership with Boston University. The project is funded by Wellcome. All Dialogue Earth content is editorially independent.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The UN\u2019s flagship annual climate summit took place in Brazil last month. COP30 was the latest chance for nations to make substantial progress on curbing emissions, mitigating the impacts of rising temperatures and financing humanity\u2019s adaptation to a hotter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, the huge gathering in Bel\u00e9m agreed upon a new climate finance goal but avoided talking about fossil fuels<\/a>. Here, we ask four experts whether COP30 achieved enough for human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Negotiations must focus on heat \u2013 the deadliest component of the climate crisis\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jeni Miller is executive director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, a network of health-sector professionals pushing for action on climate policy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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(Image: Global Climate and Health Alliance)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The health impacts of heatwaves and drought are significant and growing<\/a>. In 2023, they pushed over 100 million more people into food insecurity compared to 1981-2010. While in 2024, over 600 billion potential labour hours were lost due to heat, with follow-on impacts for family health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such stark realities should spur governments to support the most impacted developing countries in adapting and preparing to make their communities more resilient, as well as to tackle the root causes and drivers of climate change. While COP30 featured a number of discussions on heat health, there was little indication of the issue penetrating policy negotiations, where it could have motivated more ambitious climate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bel\u00e9m Health Action Plan<\/a> was launched during the summit. Speaking at the launch event, the Pan American Health Organization head Jarbas Barbosa said: \u201c600 million people around the world are now vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.\u201d Several events and sessions at COP30\u2019s Health Pavilion focussed on the relationship between heat and health. There was also a notable increase in health discussions in events at other, non-health pavilions and venues. Sessions addressed heat and occupational health; the role cities can play in protecting populations from heat; governance; cross-sectoral approaches to building heat resilience; and a COP presidency event to launch<\/a> an initiative on cooling in response to extreme heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even while discussion of heat and its health impacts received more attention than ever among this COP\u2019s panel sessions and presidency events, there were few mentions within the negotiations. COP negotiations can be quite technical, focussing on the mechanisms required to collectively address the global challenge of the climate crisis. But without regularly connecting them to the ways in which heat \u2013 the deadliest component of the climate crisis \u2013 impacts real people\u2019s lives, these talks will fail to address the critical urgency of advancing ambitious climate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The health impacts of climate change are still not properly recognised\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n