- The organization published two reports in which it recommends a series of measures to prevent deaths from this phenomenon | Photo: EFE
Investing in measures to combat climate change such as heat wave warning systems can save 2 million lives a year, and their benefits can quadruple the money spent on them, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, November 7. (WHO) a few days before the Climate Change Summit begins in Baku (COP29).
In view of this new event in the fight against global warming, the WHO has published two reports in which it also recommends the development of clean energy for domestic use or “an efficient pricing policy for fossil fuels” in order to achieve these savings. in human lives.
In Baku we will carry the message that the climate crisis is also a health crisis, something that is already affecting us, and that combating global warming can therefore generate enormous health benefits,” the director of the Department of the Environment told EFE. Climate Change and Health, María Neira.
The environmental fight can contribute, for example, to reducing the seven million deaths related to air pollution, Neira highlighted before presenting the WHO’s position facing Baku at a press conference.
On the other hand, “with more sustainable and less polluting transportation policies, which generated fewer accidents and less health care, we would also reduce the 1.2 million related deaths,” he stressed.
More sustainable food production systems
More sustainable food production systems, another aspect that can benefit the environmental fight, can not only reduce current food waste, which is close to 30% of the total generated, but also help reduce the five million deaths that have to do with unhealthy diets or malnutrition, he added.
The reports have been prepared by the WHO together with another hundred organizations and some 300 experts, which, according to Neira, is “a collective call from the health community” to promote greater climate action at COP29.
Health “can be the motivation needed to raise ambitions” in terms of reducing emissions, insisted the Spanish expert from the WHO, an agency that in the new reports makes a strong call for the end of subsidies for fossil fuels such as oil, coal or gas.
Currently, the world continues to massively subsidize the consumption of these fossil energies, with amounts that are around 7 trillion dollars annually, which is equivalent to about 3,000 dollars per family on the planet,” he highlighted at a press conference to present the reports. WHO expert Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum.
“By investing these resources more intelligently we could have not only a healthier planet but also a population with better health,” said the agency’s Climate Change and Health expert, recalling that the consumption of these non-renewable energies contributes to greater problems. pulmonary and cardiac, among others.
WHO Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health, Vanessa Kerry, added that “health is one of the faces of climate change and we cannot ignore it when we see the droughts in Africa, the malnutrition and the heat waves that have become in the norm or the recent floods in Valencia” (Spain).
“These events demand that we adopt urgent actions that are different from the current ones,” the daughter of US politician John Kerry said at the press conference.
With information from EFE
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#Fighting #climate #change #save #million #lives #year
The excerpt discusses a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighting the intersection of climate change and public health. The key points from the text include:
1. **Health Benefits of Climate Action**: The WHO emphasizes that tackling climate change could potentially save up to 2 million lives annually by improving environmental conditions and reducing health risks associated with pollution.
2. **Transportation Policies**: Implementing more sustainable and less polluting transportation policies can significantly reduce related health care costs and fatalities, with an estimation of around 1.2 million deaths prevented.
3. **Sustainable Food Production**: The report advocates for more sustainable food production systems, which could help decrease food waste—currently about 30%—and combat the five million deaths linked to unhealthy diets and malnutrition.
4. **Collaborative Effort**: The findings are a result of collaboration involving WHO, around a hundred organizations, and approximately 300 experts, signaling a unified call from the health community to push for enhanced climate action, particularly in the context of the upcoming COP29.
5. **Call for Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies**: A significant emphasis is placed on urging an end to fossil fuel subsidies, which currently amount to about $7 trillion annually—equivalent to around $3,000 per family worldwide.
the WHO’s report makes a compelling case for how focused climate action not only addresses environmental issues but also directly influences public health outcomes, potentially preventing millions of deaths.
