POSICIÓN COMÚN DE AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE SOBRE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO Y SALUD

This statement, produced by the Global Climate and Health Alliance and a wide array of regional signatories, outlines a common position for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regarding the intersection of climate change and public health. It advocates for the integration of health into national climate policies, a just energy transition, and the protection of vulnerable populations, particularly indigenous peoples and those in urban peripheries, ahead of COP30 in Belém do Pará, Brazil.

• The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region experienced a temperature increase of 1.47ºC in 2024 compared to the 1961-1990 average, while global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) reached records of 422.1 ppm and 1897 ppb, respectively.
• Climate change is driving significant health impacts in LAC, including a 54% increase in the transmission potential of dengue by Aedes aegypti between the 1951-1960 and 2013-2022 periods. Additionally, extreme temperatures in major Latin American cities are estimated to have caused nearly 900,000 deaths between 2002 and 2015.
• The region faces deep socio-economic vulnerabilities that exacerbate climate health risks: 183 million people (three out of ten) live in poverty, and 72 million (11.4%) live in extreme poverty. Furthermore, 35.2% of the population has unmet medical care needs, with this figure rising to 54.7% for the poorest 20% of the population.
• Indigenous populations in LAC are disproportionately affected by climate-related health issues; for example, in South America, indigenous communities in their territories experience double the mortality from wildfire smoke (4 premature deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) compared to non-indigenous populations.
• The document calls for a just energy transition that eliminates fossil fuel subsidies and dependencies. It notes that 95% of city dwellers in the region are exposed to air pollution, which contributes to 320,000 premature deaths annually across the American continent.
• Current climate financing in the region is insufficient for health; only 11.6% of projects funded by the Green Climate Fund in LAC are dedicated to projects with health benefits.
• There is a critical gap in health professional training regarding climate change, as the topic is absent from the undergraduate curricula of the majority of universities in the region.
• The document highlights the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean due to their small land area, remote locations, and dependence on marine resources, which impacts the availability of health personnel and medical supplies.
• The statement demands that governments integrate health as a transversal pillar in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2025-2035 and align mitigation strategies with the 1.5ºC goal.
• The document advocates for the recognition of indigenous worldviews, such as 'Sumak Kawsay' (Buen Vivir) in Bolivia and Ecuador, which view health as inseparable from spirituality and a symbiotic relationship with the environment.

APA

Global Climate and Health Alliance (n.d.). POSICIÓN COMÚN DE AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE SOBRE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO Y SALUD. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ES-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf

Chicago

Global Climate and Health Alliance. POSICIÓN COMÚN DE AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE SOBRE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO Y SALUD. n.d. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ES-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Climate and Health Alliance |title=POSICIÓN COMÚN DE AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE SOBRE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO Y SALUD |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ES-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalclimateandhealthalliancendposicin, author = {{Global Climate and Health Alliance}}, title = {{POSICIÓN COMÚN DE AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE SOBRE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO Y SALUD}}, publisher = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ES-Common-Position-of-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }