Healthcare professionals call for accelerated fossil fuel phase-out for global health

New Delhi: Healthcare professionals worldwide have issued a strong call to action, urging all countries to commit to a swift and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels as the definitive path to universal health.

In an open letter addressed to the United Arab Emirates, host of the upcoming UN climate talks (COP28), and world leaders, healthcare experts highlighted the escalating frequency and severity of climate change-induced extreme weather events.

These events, including extreme heat, unprecedented storms, floods, food and water insecurity, wildfires, and displacement, are posing substantial health risks in many countries.

For the first time, the annual UN climate talks will have a day to focus on climate-health matters, culminating in a climate-health ministerial meeting aimed at building consensus on vital actions for health systems' response to climate change, bolstered by financial commitments for execution.

In their letter to the president of the next UN climate talks, Sultan Al Jaber, the healthcare professionals emphasised that the Paris Agreement already recognises the "right to health" as a fundamental obligation for climate action. Yet, they pointed out that communities, health workers, and health systems globally are already grappling with the alarming consequences of a changing climate.

"For COP28 to truly become a 'health COP,' it must address the root cause of the climate crisis, which is the continued extraction and usage of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and gas. We call on COP28's presidency and leaders worldwide to commit to an expedited, just, and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels as the definitive path to health for all," they said.

Signatories to the letter included representatives from prominent organisations such as the International Pediatric Association, Médecins Sans Frontières, World Federation for Public Health Associations, World Medical Association, Public Health Association of South Africa, and Public Health Foundation of India.

The healthcare professionals stressed that staying within the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature increase target set by the Paris Agreement is vital for ensuring global health and economic prosperity. They emphasised that achieving this goal is only feasible through the rapid abandonment of fossil fuels.

A comprehensive phase-out of fossil fuels will help limit global warming, safeguard health from the destructive impacts of extreme weather, and prevent further ecological deterioration and biodiversity loss. The experts cautioned that failing to take such action would lead to overwhelming health consequences.

Apart from climate-related health effects, air pollution generated in part by burning fossil fuels results in seven million premature deaths annually. The economic costs of health impacts due to air pollution amounted to over USD 8.1 trillion, or 6.1 per cent of global GDP, in 2019, research shows.

The experts highlighted that investments in clean energy sources could save hundreds of billions of dollars annually in healthcare costs related to air pollution, while simultaneously decreasing economic losses caused by extreme weather events with damages worth USD 253 billion in 2021.

A swift phase-out of fossil fuels is the most effective way to ensure clean air, water, and environment, which are foundational for good health, they said.

The healthcare professionals also called for the exclusion of fossil fuel interests from climate negotiations, highlighting the industry's history of obstructing climate action at UNFCCC negotiations and elsewhere. Similar to the tobacco industry's exclusion from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, they stressed the need to protect global collaboration on climate progress from the lobbying, disinformation, and delays driven by industry interests.