Triple climate health funds to $120bn, experts tell world leaders

Health experts are calling on world leaders at the United Nations climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, to significantly increase public adaptation financing, urging a threefold increase to at least $120 billion annually by 2035. The Global Climate and Health Alliance issued a statement Monday, warning that failing to invest in climate resilience could lead to escalating health risks for millions globally.

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Governments should commit to increasing public, grant-based adaptation finance to at least $120bn annually by 2035 to help vulnerable communities cope with the growing impacts of climate change.

The experts emphasized that increased adaptation funding is crucial for countries to bolster their health systems, improve access to clean water and sanitation, strengthen food security, and enhance preparedness for climate-related disasters. "Without adaptation finance, life-saving action to build resilience in the health sector and in health-determining sectors such as water and sanitation, disaster planning, and food systems will be impossible," warned Jess Beagley, Policy Lead at the alliance.

Beagley highlighted potential consequences of inadequate funding, including increased malnutrition, outbreaks of waterborne diseases, greater exposure to extreme weather events, and disruptions in healthcare services. Health professionals have consistently warned that climate change exacerbates heatwaves, floods, droughts, storms, and disease outbreaks, placing immense pressure on already strained health systems. Countries in Africa, including Nigeria, have recently experienced severe flooding and prolonged heatwaves linked to climate variability.

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Without adaptation finance, life-saving action to build resilience in the health sector and in health-determining sectors such as water and sanitation, disaster planning, and food systems will be impossible.

Furthermore, the alliance urged wealthy nations to expedite their transition away from fossil fuels. Nova Tebbe, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the alliance, stated that scientific evidence clearly indicates that expanding fossil fuel production is incompatible with efforts to limit global warming to safe levels. "The International Energy Agency has made it clear that no new fossil fuel exploration is compatible with a 1.5-degree Celsius world," Tebbe said, stressing the need for governments to prioritize reliable and affordable clean energy access.

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The International Energy Agency has made it clear that no new fossil fuel exploration is compatible with a 1.5-degree Celsius world.