Health in the Global Environmental Agenda

The document argues that while nearly 25% of global deaths are linked to economic decisions affecting the environment, health stakeholders remain largely invisible in global environmental negotiations. It provides a technical roadmap for health professionals to engage with key multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), emphasizing that environmental governance is effectively health governance. The guide details specific opportunities within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UNFCCC, chemicals conventions, and the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), advocating for a multi-sectoral health governance model that incorporates Planetary Health and One Health frameworks.

• There is a significant gap between the presence of health stakeholders at global climate events and the formal integration of their messages into UNFCCC negotiations. For example, while 81 out of 95 surveyed ministries of health designate a focal point for health and climate change, only 12% of parties sent a representative to COP 26.
• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is developing a draft global action plan on biodiversity and health, but it currently lacks critical references to the health of children and the specific link between biodiversity and nutrition.
• Pollution governance is characterized by a 'silent pandemic' where children are born 'pre-polluted' due to the presence of hazardous chemicals in bloodstreams from daily exposure.
• The health sector contributes approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is vulnerable to extreme weather that disrupts facility structures, power, and water quality.
• Global food governance is fragmented, and the UNFCCC's focus on agriculture has historically been limited to hunger rather than comprehensive nutrition. The term 'food production' remains undefined within the UNFCCC.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN bodies estimate that environmental determinants of health account for 30–55% of health outcomes.
• The human right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, recognized by the UN Human Rights Council in October 2021, provides a legal mechanism to strengthen environmental laws and address social injustices.
• Pharmaceutical pollutants and medical waste, including plastics from the COVID-19 pandemic, are not sufficiently governed under current chemicals conventions.
• National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) often show a mismatch between assessed vulnerabilities and the corresponding actions for resilience, with mental health and zoonoses receiving the least attention.
• The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) manages USD 130 trillion in private capital but does not currently include health metrics in its decision-making rubric for sustainability.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2022). Health in the Global Environmental Agenda. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/health-environment-nexus.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Health in the Global Environmental Agenda. 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/health-environment-nexus.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Health in the Global Environmental Agenda |date=January 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/health-environment-nexus.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2022health, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Health in the Global Environmental Agenda}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-01/health-environment-nexus.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }