Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues and friends,
A few weeks ago, I had the honour of visiting several countries in the Pacific to attend the Pacific Health Ministers Meeting in Tahiti and the Pacific Island Leaders Forum in Tuvalu. On my way I also visited Tonga and Fiji.
I saw first-hand the impact that climate change is having on their communities.
While I was in Tuvalu I met a teenage boy called Falou. His knowledge of climate change was amazing, and I was very impressed.
But he said something that stayed with me, and that actually made me sad.
He told me that he and his friends had been talking about what they would do if Tuvalu sinks. And his friends, many of them decided they will sink with it. Tuvalu and Kiribati are two of the island states that may go under water in years to come.
That really affected me. These kids should be enjoying their childhood. Instead, they’re thinking about whether they will need to leave their home or die with it.
For these communities, climate change is not a political argument. It’s an everyday reality.
Climate change strikes at the heart of what it means to be human:
The air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink.
But despite years of talk, the international response remains weak.
Less than 1.5% of international finance for climate change adaptation is allocated to health.
And the most vulnerable countries, like small island developing states, receive only a fraction of that.
But climate change is not just a threat for remote Pacific islands. It affects all of us, from the smallest islands to the biggest cities.
The same emissions that warm our planet also pollute the air we breathe.
Emissions from burning fossil fuels cause respiratory and heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and affect every single organ in our bodies.
Air pollution kills more than 7 million people every year – about 1 in 8 deaths worldwide.
It also causes long term health harms, like chronic lung and heart disease, and cancer.
Recent evidence is even suggesting air pollution exposure may impair brain development in children.
But the health effects of climate change go beyond air pollution.
Climate change fans the flames of infectious disease such as malaria, dengue, zika and cholera.
It fuels the spread of noncommunicable disease by polluting the air, food and water that sustain life.
Extreme weather events destroy lives and livelihoods, and can have long-lasting consequences for mental health.
Our message to the world is that the climate crisis is a health crisis.
Health is also a powerful argument for why we need to act now.
The effects of climate change on the atmosphere, polar ice caps and sea levels are serious and significant, but for many people they aren’t close enough to home.
However, the effects of climate change on human health are much more immediate.
At tomorrow’s Climate Action Summit, world leaders will be asked to make concrete commitments with tangible impacts on climate mitigation and adaptation.
WHO has been given the mandate to develop two health commitments.
First, to achieve air quality that is safe for people, by implementing policies in line with WHO Air Quality Guidelines.
And second, to scale up financing to address the health effects of climate change.
I’m very glad to report that thanks to excellent collaboration with Peru and Spain, these commitments have turned into concrete actions for governments, mayors, development banks and funds, bilateral agencies, NGOs and the private sector.
Addressing the global health threat of air pollution takes good science, political courage, relentless advocacy and strong partnership.
WHO stands ready to work with all countries and all partners to protect our home and our health.
Thank you very much.