COMMON POSITION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH

The document outlines the severe health vulnerabilities of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region due to climate change, emphasizing the disproportionate impact on marginalized groups. It calls for a transition to sustainable food and energy systems, the strengthening of primary healthcare, and the implementation of climate justice to protect the right to health.

• The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region faces extreme climate vulnerability, with 2024 temperatures exceeding the 1961-1990 average by 1.47ºC. While the region's contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is modest at 6.7%, its absolute emissions have tripled since 1970.
• Climate change is significantly increasing health risks in the region, including a 54% increase in the potential for dengue transmission by Aedes aegypti between the 1951-1960 and 2013-2022 periods. Extreme temperatures in major Latin American cities are estimated to have caused nearly 900,000 deaths between 2002 and 2015.
• Deep socioeconomic inequalities exacerbate climate health risks; for example, indigenous communities in South America experience double the mortality rate from wildfire smoke compared to non-indigenous populations. Furthermore, 35.2% of the LAC population faces unmet healthcare needs, rising to 54.7% for the poorest 20%.
• The region's agri-food systems are a major source of emissions, with agricultural, forestry, and land-use activities accounting for over 50% of emissions in some countries. Despite producing 14% of global food, 28.2% of the LAC population suffers from moderate or severe food insecurity.
• There is a critical gap in health system preparedness and research; only ten countries in the region have conducted vulnerability and adaptation assessments of their health systems, and regional scientific publications on the climate-health nexus represent less than 4% of global output.
• The energy transition presents risks of 'extractive models' if the demand for critical minerals like lithium, copper, and nickel is not managed with social safeguards, potentially violating the rights of Indigenous and rural communities to free, prior, and informed consent.

APA

Global Climate and Health Alliance (n.d.). COMMON POSITION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ENG-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf

Chicago

Global Climate and Health Alliance. COMMON POSITION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH. n.d. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ENG-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Climate and Health Alliance |title=COMMON POSITION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ENG-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalclimateandhealthalliancendcommon, author = {{Global Climate and Health Alliance}}, title = {{COMMON POSITION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ENG-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }