Continued engagement by the health community is needed to ensure climate action is commensurate with the scale of the threat, argue these authors
COP28 took place at the end of 2023 amid unprecedented global challenges, with record high temperatures, widespread wildfires, and destructive floods, all demonstrating the immediate reality of the climate crisis. The health community has been engaging in COPs (international negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle the effects of climate change) for the past decade, but COP28 was nonetheless a year of health “firsts.”1 It included an inaugural health themed day, a health ministerial meeting, and a declaration on climate and health endorsed by 143 countries (correct at close of COP28) (A Wyns, personal communication, 2023)2; the announcement of an aggregated $1bn fund for climate and health3; and the strongest ever representation from the health community—1900 people, including 49 ministers of health (A Wyns, personal communication, 2023).4 It followed calls by over 46 million health professionals for a fossil fuel phase-out and wider climate action.56 Health has a permanent place at the heart of the climate negotiation process, but health is not yet protected by sufficiently ambitious climate decision making. We examine the extent to which the negotiations delivered for health and explore how the health community can build on these advances.
The overarching decision of COP28—the “global stocktake,”7 which monitors progress towards delivering the Paris Agreement—makes clear reference to the right to health and …