Declare climate crisis a global public health emergency, experts tell WHO

Leading international experts from an independent pan-European commission on climate and health have called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the climate crisis a global public health emergency. The commission argues that the escalating health risks linked to climate change—including the spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya, extreme weather events, food insecurity, and air pollution—warrant the highest level of health alert known as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Such a declaration, they contend, would prompt a coordinated international response necessary to prevent millions of avoidable deaths. The commission’s report, set to be presented to European ministers ahead of the WHO’s World Health Assembly, emphasizes that climate change poses an immediate and long-term threat to health, economic stability, and security at multiple levels. While a PHEIC declaration alone will not halt climate change, it would elevate the issue to a global priority comparable to previous emergencies like Covid-19 and Mpox, thereby mobilizing resources and policy actions on a scale commensurate with the crisis. The 11-member panel includes former health and climate ministers and experts who stress that climate change is far from a fading concern or misinformation. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, former prime minister of Iceland and chair of the commission, highlighted the urgency of the situation, warning that without swift and comprehensive action, millions more people could suffer life-threatening illnesses or death. Sir Andrew Haines, the commission’s chief scientific adviser and a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, underscored that continuing current emission rates will exacerbate health risks for present and future generations, including heat-related illnesses, flooding, infectious diseases, and food shortages. The commission also called on governments to end fossil fuel subsidies, which contribute directly to an estimated 600,000 premature deaths annually in Europe alone. Their recommendations aim to catalyze a global response that integrates health considerations into climate policy, reinforcing the need for urgent, coordinated action to protect public health worldwide.