Honourable Minister Dr Teymur Musayev,
Honourable Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu,
Honourable Minister Filomena Gonçalves,
Secretary-General Celeste Saulo,
Dr Adnan Amin,
Our moderator, Dr Richard Horton,
Honourable Ministers, distinguished guests, dear colleagues and friends,
Thank you all for joining us today, and my thanks also to former Vice-President Al Gore and Nigar Arpadarai, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29, for sending video messages, which we will see shortly.
The climate crisis is a health crisis.
And it’s not a hypothetical crisis in the future. It’s right here and right now.
Climate-related humanitarian emergencies are increasing in scale, frequency and intensity.
In the last month there have been record heatwaves across Mexico, and devastating floods in Brazil.
Each year, air pollution contributes to over seven million premature deaths.
Rising seas are edging closer to submerging some of our Member States.
Food insecurity is rising, forcing people to make impossible choices between their next meal and health care.
And climate change is also fuelling the spread of diseases like cholera, dengue and malaria.
The health gains from climate mitigation and adaptation outweigh the costs and are a compelling argument for stronger climate action.
Climate action could save millions of lives each year and generate a return of over 4 US dollars for every dollar spent.
These actions include protecting vulnerable people from the health impacts of heatwaves, investing in renewable energy for health facilities, and removing subsidies for polluting fuels.
We also need to invest in health and care workers to meet the increasing demands on health systems caused by climate change.
For all of these reasons, climate change is a key component of the Fourteenth General Programme of Work, which Member States approved on Tuesday.
I also welcome the resolution on climate change and health that Member States have approved.
In March next year, we will hold the Second WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Colombia, bringing together global leaders and experts to focus on concrete solutions to improve air quality, mitigate climate change and protect public health.
We’re very pleased that health is becoming more prominent in climate discussions globally.
At COP28 in the UAE last year, a whole day of the programme was dedicated to health for the first time, and almost 150 countries signed the ministerial declaration on climate and health.
We very much hope health will remain a priority under Azerbaijan’s Presidency.
I am also pleased that multilateral development banks, donors and philanthropies are prioritizing climate.
Thank you all for your commitment to this issue, and to protecting and promoting the health of both people and planet.
I thank you.