he climate crisis is a health crisis. Today, our health faces grave threats due to heat, floods, fires and disease fueled by climate change—all intensified by climate change.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Special Report on Climate Change & Health could not be clearer: Fossil fuel dependence is making us sick. Referencing our Urban Pulse report and the experiences of our member cities, putting health at the heart of climate action leads to clear benefits to our wellbeing. These are benefits that every person can feel, helping drive action at the pace and scale we need.
We spoke to local authorities, surveying a wide range of issues where climate change is driving health impacts, including the rise in extreme weather events such as flooding, heatwaves, and droughts. In Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, numerous cities have seen an increase in vector–borne illnesses like dengue due to rising temperatures further exacerbated by gaps in data management and surveillance due to inadequate or fragmented healthcare and weather forecasting systems.
We have also seen cities develop solutions that address these compounding crises with multiple benefits. Greening initiatives improve air quality, and their program design can be targeted to benefit groups in situations of greater vulnerability, from women gardeners in Mexico City to schoolchildren in Paris and Quezon City. Health initiatives and data infrastructure for surveillance and disaster management can reduce risks and save lives. Rio de Janeiro’s integrated Operations and Resilience Center monitors everything from public health indicators to weather forecasts and floods. In Surat, the Urban Health and Climate Resilience Center of Excellence works to reduce vector borne disease spread by informing public policy and planning.
Each year, trillions of dollars continue to fund activities that harm nature, while only a fraction is directed toward preserving and restoring the systems that sustain life. It is more urgent than ever that we redirect investments away from what endangers people and planet and towards what nurtures and sustains us.
Cities’ health and climate solutions demonstrate how it is possible to build better, greener, and healthier places that benefit communities with the greatest needs. The health of all people and all living things—humans, plants, and animals alike—is intertwined and interdependent. Action to reduce inequalities, protect our environment and our health create virtuous cycles puts people at the heart of climate action and shows the way toward healthier, more resilient communities.
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Make no mistake: The climate crisis is a health crisis
Photo by Ariful Haque via Pexels.
November 20, 2024
We must redirect investments away from what endangers both people and the planet and toward what nurtures and sustains us, writes Lauren Sorkin.
T
he climate crisis is a health crisis. Today, our health faces grave threats due to heat, floods, fires and disease fueled by climate change—all intensified by climate change.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Special Report on Climate Change & Health could not be clearer: Fossil fuel dependence is making us sick. Referencing our Urban Pulse report and the experiences of our member cities, putting health at the heart of climate action leads to clear benefits to our wellbeing. These are benefits that every person can feel, helping drive action at the pace and scale we need.
We spoke to local authorities, surveying a wide range of issues where climate change is driving health impacts, including the rise in extreme weather events such as flooding, heatwaves, and droughts. In Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, numerous cities have seen an increase in vector–borne illnesses like dengue due to rising temperatures further exacerbated by gaps in data management and surveillance due to inadequate or fragmented healthcare and weather forecasting systems.
We have also seen cities develop solutions that address these compounding crises with multiple benefits. Greening initiatives improve air quality, and their program design can be targeted to benefit groups in situations of greater vulnerability, from women gardeners in Mexico City to schoolchildren in Paris and Quezon City. Health initiatives and data infrastructure for surveillance and disaster management can reduce risks and save lives. Rio de Janeiro’s integrated Operations and Resilience Center monitors everything from public health indicators to weather forecasts and floods. In Surat, the Urban Health and Climate Resilience Center of Excellence works to reduce vector borne disease spread by informing public policy and planning.
Each year, trillions of dollars continue to fund activities that harm nature, while only a fraction is directed toward preserving and restoring the systems that sustain life. It is more urgent than ever that we redirect investments away from what endangers people and planet and towards what nurtures and sustains us.
Cities’ health and climate solutions demonstrate how it is possible to build better, greener, and healthier places that benefit communities with the greatest needs. The health of all people and all living things—humans, plants, and animals alike—is intertwined and interdependent. Action to reduce inequalities, protect our environment and our health create virtuous cycles puts people at the heart of climate action and shows the way toward healthier, more resilient communities.
