Minister Maha Barakat,
Minister Abdul Rahman,
And we’re blessed with the presence of John Kerry and Bill Gates, thank you so much for joining,
Excellencies, Ministers, the house is full, I’m glad that ministers are here,
It is truly an honour to welcome you all to this first health day at a COP.
Although the climate crisis is a health crisis, it is well overdue: 27 COPs have been and gone without a serious discussion of health.
Undoubtedly health stands as the most compelling reason for taking climate action. The threats to health resulting from climate change are immediate and present. However, for too long health has been a footnote climate discussion. No more. I think that’s what we’re seeing today.
I thank sincerely the UAE for taking this historic step and making health central to its COP28 Presidency. Thank you, UAE for being the pathfinder. Shukran jazeelan.
A special welcome to our own family – Ministers of Health, and the wider health community.
You are on the frontline of the climate crisis. The impacts of climate change on health are not a theoretical threat for the future. They are right here and right now, and you are dealing with them in your communities, your clinics and your hospitals.
Heat-related deaths among people aged over 65 years have climbed by 75 percent globally in two decades.
Every year, 7 million people die from air pollution.
Changing weather patterns, driven by human activity and the burning of fossil fuels, is contributing to record numbers of cholera outbreaks.
And our warming planet is expanding the range of mosquitoes, which carry dangerous pathogens like dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever into places that have never dealt with them before.
Everyone has a part to play in addressing the climate crisis, but the health community has a unique and positive contribution to make on every issue under negotiation at COP.
On one hand, we have a key role to play in adaptation, by building climate resilient health systems that can withstand climate-related shocks.
On the other, we have a key role to play in mitigation, because the health sector is responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Most importantly, the health workforce is one of the largest in the world, present in almost every community, and is more trusted than any other profession.
We have a role to speak up on behalf of the populations we serve, to raise ambition for a cleaner, greener and healthier future.
I have three asks today.
First, to Heads of Government, Ministries of Environment, and the leaders of the climate negotiations – I urge you to include your health colleagues as partners. What UAE has started should be maintained, not only at the global level but also at country level – the inclusion of the health sector.
Second, to Ministers of Health, my former colleagues, and the health community overall, I urge you to take on this responsibility as climate champions. There are things that only you can do.
While the melting ice caps and rising sea levels are undeniably critical issues, they often feel distant both in time and in proximity to most individuals.
On the other hand, the health threats posed by climate change are immediate and tangible. So it’s easier for the health sector to convince populations, to convince our citizens on climate change, because health is a current danger.
And third, to everyone gathered here, this is the first COP health day, but it must not be the last. Health must be a permanent feature of the climate change agenda from now on.
Arnold Schwarzenegger used the argument of health and climate nicely when he was governor.
Maybe I will use something that he said in his movies. This is the first but as health community we would like to say “hasta la vista”. We will come back.
Thank you, COP29.