Underlying principles for climate and health priorities for Africa at COP27

This briefing by the Global Climate and Health Alliance outlines principles to ensure COP27 prioritizes African health and climate needs. It advocates for a transition where 'net zero' equates to 'zero poverty,' emphasizing the integration of health professionals into climate decision-making, the promotion of indigenous food systems over Western-style diets, and the urgent need for targeted finance and renewable energy access to build community resilience.

• To make COP27 effective for Africa, the document proposes five policy priorities: ensuring African voice and inclusion (including civil society, women, and youth), integrating action across adaptation, mitigation, pollution, and health, building trust to overcome political instabilities, targeting finance toward lower-income countries and local services, and utilizing appropriate technology that incorporates indigenous knowledge while removing intellectual property barriers.
• Energy planning in Africa must treat energy problems as public health problems. The lack of modern energy leads to health deprivation and indoor air pollution from fuelwood. The briefing calls for a just transition to affordable renewable energy, the end of fossil fuel subsidies, and the cessation of new coal, oil, and gas drilling and fracking rights.
• African food systems face a dual crisis: rising food insecurity and malnutrition—particularly in East Africa due to changing weather patterns—alongside an increase in obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) driven by the rise of processed 'Western-style' diets. The document advocates for a shift toward drought-resilient traditional African crops and agroecology.
• Building climate-resilient health systems in Africa requires the implementation of Health National Adaptation Plans (HNAPs) and vulnerability assessments. The briefing emphasizes the need for community-level research, the decarbonization of healthcare systems to remove 'carbon hotspots,' and the inclusion of climate change in health worker training curricula.
• The document highlights a gap in climate finance, noting that while $20 trillion was mobilized for the Covid-19 response, the promised £100 billion annual climate finance remains 'illusive' for Africa. It suggests that public finance is necessary to de-risk investments in less stable countries and innovative technologies.

APA

Global Climate and Health Alliance (2022). Underlying principles for climate and health priorities for Africa at COP27. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HCN-Shaping-COP27-around-African-climate-and-health-priorities-final.pdf

Chicago

Global Climate and Health Alliance. Underlying principles for climate and health priorities for Africa at COP27. 2022. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HCN-Shaping-COP27-around-African-climate-and-health-priorities-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Climate and Health Alliance |title=Underlying principles for climate and health priorities for Africa at COP27 |date=August 2022 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HCN-Shaping-COP27-around-African-climate-and-health-priorities-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalclimateandhealthalliance2022underlying, author = {{Global Climate and Health Alliance}}, title = {{Underlying principles for climate and health priorities for Africa at COP27}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HCN-Shaping-COP27-around-African-climate-and-health-priorities-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }