The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. With the subsequent adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015, Parties to these three agreements have progressively reaffirmed the UNFCCC’s role as the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change.
WHO is committed to engage actively in the UNFCCC, with member states and relevant partners to promote effective climate and health policies which promote health protection.
WHO collaborates with the UNFCCC on the development of guidelines for assessing the health impacts of climate change, produces guidance on adaptation measures for human health, and supports member states to improve health protection in international health and climate change negotiations and agreements.
The WHO UNFCCC Health and Climate Change Country Profile Project forms the foundation of WHO’s monitoring of national and global progress on health and climate change. Working in collaboration with national health authorities and health stakeholders, the project aims to (1) increase awareness of the health impacts of climate change; (2) support evidence-based decision making to strengthen the resilience of health systems; (3) support health involvement in national and international climate processes such as the UNFCCC and (4) promote actions that improve health while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
WHO and the UNFCCC also run a special initiative on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which was launched at the 24th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP24) in November 2017 and aims to have all health systems in SIDS to be resilient to climate change by 2030.
Learn More
- WHO UNFCCC Health and Climate Country Profiles
- COP24 Special report: Health & Climate Change
- Special Initiative on Climate Change and Health in SIDS
- Climate change & health conferences and events