This year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was dramatically hailed as the “last chance for action” to avert a global climate crisis. Activists from a multitude of sectors welcomed certain key commitments, including the recent announcement of a joint initiative by the United States and China, and the finalization of the Paris Rulebook, but largely criticized the lack of sweeping systemic action deemed necessary to meet the targets set in Paris in 2015.

 

Nevertheless, this has been a ground-breaking COP for the global health community. For the first time ever, health was featured on the agenda, and the World Health Organization (WHO) established an official presence at the event. Despite the many less-than-impressive country pledges on blanket reductions of fossil fuel use, a group of 50 WHO Member States have now signed on to the COP26 Health Programme, committing themselves to developing climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems.

 

WHF also made COP history by sending its first representative to participate in the Global Conference on Climate and Health on 6 November, ensuring that CVD and its environmental determinants were an important part of the conversation. In addition to providing a platform for connecting with leaders at the intersection of health and climate on behalf of the Air Pollution Expert Group, the conference also presented an excellent opportunity to share the key messages and recommendations of the WHF Air Pollution Policy Brief with over 150 climate negotiators, policymakers, and stakeholders from a broad range of non-profit and industry sectors.

 

Optimists and pessimists alike agree that whatever the outcomes, COP26 is just the beginning – a massive amount of action will now be required to turn all the commitments into real transitions. WHF is proud to support the efforts of the WHO and other partners in facilitating those transitions. From breaking down the siloes that have too-long divided the health and environment communities through engagements like our presence in Glasgow, to working with our Members to share concrete policy proposals with their local, regional, and national policymakers, we will continue to walk the talk towards a healthy climate for healthy hearts across the COP agenda and beyond.