Stop fossil fuel use to end threat to global health, says WHO chief
A heavily polluted urban environment. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has voiced its support for efforts to phase out fossil fuels, saying, these sources of energy are a threat to global health.
What you need to know:
- The health impacts of climate change are increasing globally, compounded by disease outbreaks and global crises in energy, food, and cost of living.
- The burning of fossil fuels is one of the key drivers of both climate change and air pollution and is responsible for the deaths of millions of people each year.
- The changing climate is affecting the spread of infectious diseases, putting populations at higher risk of emerging diseases and co-epidemics.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has voiced its support for efforts to phase out fossil fuels, saying, these sources of energy are a threat to global health.
The sentiments expressed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus were prompted by the release of this year’s Lancet Countdown report, which said continued dependence on fossil fuels is compounding health risks posed by multiple crises the world is facing — including Covid-19 pandemic fallouts, the war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, as well as climate change.
“The WHO fully supports the global call for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty as meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement would deliver huge health gains from improved health quality alone that would cover the cost of transitioning to clean energy,” Dr Tedros said.
“This is why the WHO launched The Alliance of Transformative Action bringing together 60 countries and partners to reduce carbon emissions. This report is a sovereign reminder of how far we still need to go,” he added.
The report comes ahead of this year’s United Nations climate change conference (COP27), which will be held in Egypt next month.
“The latest Lancet Countdown report shows that the health impacts of climate change are increasing globally, compounded by disease outbreaks and global crises in energy, food, and cost of living. The burning of fossil fuels is one of the key drivers of both climate change and air pollution and is responsible for the deaths of millions of people each year and now we must break our addiction to fossil fuels,” the WHO boss said.
The Lancet Countdown report findings represent the work of 99 experts from 51 institutions including the WHO and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
According to The Lancet website, the annual report “provides an independent assessment of progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, and represents the findings and consensus of 51 leading academic institutions and UN agencies”.
The Lancet Countdown tracks the connection between public health and climate change. According to experts, fossil fuel dependence is not only undermining global health through increased climate change impacts, but also affects human health and well-being directly through volatile and unpredictable fossil fuel markets, frail supply chains, and geopolitical conflicts.
“As a result, millions of people do not have access to the energy needed to keep their homes at healthy temperatures, preserve food and medication, and meet the seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all,” the report says.
The findings further show that the changing climate is affecting the spread of infectious diseases, putting populations at higher risk of emerging diseases and co-epidemics.
“Coastal waters are becoming more suitable for the transmission of vibrio pathogens; the number of months suitable for malaria transmission increased by 31·3 per cent in the highland areas of the Americas and 13·8 per cent in the highland areas of Africa from 1951–60 to 2012–21, and the likelihood of dengue transmission rose by 12 per cent in the same period,” the report highlights while noting that the coexistence of dengue outbreaks with the Covid-19 pandemic led to aggravated pressure on health systems, misdiagnosis, and difficulties in the management of both diseases in many regions of South America, Asia, and Africa.
The analysis also shows that extreme heat was associated with 98 million more people reporting moderate to severe food insecurity in 2020 than annually in 1981–2010, in 103 countries analysed.
This worsens the stability of global food systems, acting in synergy with other concurrent crises to reverse progress towards hunger eradication.
The report observes that urgent action is needed to strengthen health-system resilience and prevent a rapidly escalating loss of lives and prevent suffering in a changing climate.
The scientists say they found that despite the local cooling and overall health benefits of urban greenspaces, only 277 (27 per cent) of 1,038 global urban centres were at least moderately green in 2021 and the number of households with air conditioning increased by 66 per cent from 2000 to 2020, a response that worsens the energy crisis and further increases urban heat, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, according to the report.
Dr Marina Romanell, the Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at the University College London, explained that the findings show that governments and companies continue to follow strategies that increasingly threaten the health and survival of all people alive today, and of future generations. The Fossil Fuel Treaty, a global organisation that calls for a total phase-out of fossil fuels, has highlighted the critical dangers that fossil fuels pose to all 17 SDGs.
