A new report has shown that the next UN climate summit will be the first to consider health issues in depth, with a meeting of global health ministers to highlight the consequences of the climate crisis for wellbeing.
Speaking ahead of the summit which will take place in Dubai this November, Sultan Al Jaber, the president of Cop28 said “We will be the first Cop to dedicate a day to health and the first to host a health and climate ministerial. And we need to broaden our definition of adaptation to enable global climate resilience, transform food systems and enhance forestry land use and water management.”
The climate crisis is likely to place further burdens on already overstretched global health systems. As well as dealing with the consequences of climate disasters such as heatwaves, floods and droughts, doctors will be faced with the increased stress on patients from rising temperatures, and higher temperatures will allow for the increased spread of disease vectors such as mosquitoes.
This week, ministers from around the world are gathered in Berlin for the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an annual meeting on climate held by the German government.
Addressing the conference, Al Jaber vowed to use Cop28 to fulfil the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
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At Cop28, countries will for the first time formally assess progress since Paris, a process known as the global stocktake. This is likely to show that most countries are falling well short of the cuts in greenhouse gases needed to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C, the more stringent of the two goals in the Paris Agreement, in line with scientific advice.
In his address to the ministers at the Petersberg dialogue, Al Jaber also said that the most recent IPCC report has already made it crystal clear that we are way off track.
“This is a moment of clarity that we must face with total honesty. We are already seeing the impacts, from rising sea levels to failed harvests, to food, water and energy insecurity. Everyone is affected and the most vulnerable communities, across the global south, who have done the least to cause climate change, are the most affected.”
Since taking on the Cop28 role earlier this year, Al Jaber has faced strong criticism. He is chief executive of the UAE national oil company, Adnoc, as well as founder of the Masdar renewable energy company, and minister of advanced technology for the UAE.
Adnoc is said to be one of the world’s biggest national oil companies which is said to be planning for a massive expansion of fossil fuel production.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
