For health's sake, stop financing fossil fuels

The Global Climate and Health Alliance calls for governments at COP27 to treat climate change as a public health imperative. Key demands include a full fossil fuel phase-out, the fulfillment of the $100B climate finance goal for low-income countries, and the establishment of a formal process for 'loss and damage' funding specifically for health systems. The document highlights that the healthcare sector contributes 4-5% of global emissions and argues that health metrics should be integrated into the Global Stocktake and the Global Goal on Adaptation.

• The Global Climate and Health Alliance argues that climate change is a critical health issue, noting that climate-sensitive health threats cause millions of avoidable deaths every year and lead to severe productivity losses due to extreme heat. The document asserts that the integration of health issues into UNFCCC policymaking and monitoring has been insufficient, despite IPCC warnings dating back to 1990.
• At COP27, the health community is demanding that governments establish a clear process for providing finance to lower-income countries to address loss and damage, specifically including damage to health systems and people's health.
• The document calls for a full and just fossil fuel phase-out as a public health imperative, citing the 2022 Lancet Countdown report to argue that fossil fuels are incompatible with a healthy future. A complete phase-out is presented as the only way to achieve full health benefits regarding cleaner air and protection from harms caused by the extraction, transport, processing, and use of fossil fuels.
• Wealthy nations are urged to immediately meet the $100B global climate finance goal, including covering shortfalls from 2020-2021. The alliance proposes that half of this funding be allocated to climate adaptation, with increased investment in health programs and systems.
• The healthcare sector is identified as both a contributor to and a solution for climate change; it accounts for 4-5% of global emissions and is one of the three sectors most frequently prioritized for adaptation in nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

APA

Walsh, D. (2022). For health's sake, stop financing fossil fuels. Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/for-healths-sake-stop-financing-fossil-fuels/

Chicago

Walsh, Dave. For health's sake, stop financing fossil fuels. Global Climate and Health Alliance, 2022. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/for-healths-sake-stop-financing-fossil-fuels/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Walsh |first1=Dave |title=For health's sake, stop financing fossil fuels |publisher=Global Climate and Health Alliance |date=2 November 2022 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/for-healths-sake-stop-financing-fossil-fuels/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{walsh2022healths, author = {Walsh, Dave}, title = {{For health's sake, stop financing fossil fuels}}, publisher = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/blog/for-healths-sake-stop-financing-fossil-fuels/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }