Nutrition at COP28

Climate change and malnutrition are two of the greatest challenges facing humanity today; these two issues are intrinsically intertwined in a wider context of population and planetary health. By addressing them in an integrated way, joint solutions to deliver healthy diets from sustainable food systems can overcome two of our biggest barriers to sustainable development.

Unhealthy diets are a common and pervasive risk factor for all forms of malnutrition. Pressure on public health systems is exacerbated by overweight and obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers, which pose a threat to long-term health but can be prevented by increasing the consumption of healthy diets. At the same time, our current food systems are among the main drivers of climate change, biodiversity loss, and the depletion of natural resources. A shift to diets that incorporate healthier foods with lower environmental footprints, could help improve human and planetary health. Dietary needs and preferences and environmental impacts are highly diverse and addressing them requires context-specific, equity-sensitive solutions.

WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS), in collaboration with many partners, is organizing a series of events and webinars to call for scaled-up action in the climate–nutrition nexus.