Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The threat climate change poses to health, equity, and development has been rigorously documented. However, in an era marked by economic crisis, regional conflicts, natural disasters and growing disparities between rich and poor, the joint global ac
...
tions required to address climate change have been vigorously debated – and critical decisions postponed.
This document, part of WHO’s Health in the Green Economy series, describes how many climate change measures can be “win-wins” for people and the planet.
These policies yield large, immediate public health benefits while reducing the upward trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these policies can improve the health and equity of people in poor countries and assist developing countries in adapting to climate change that is already occurring, as evidenced by more extreme storms, flooding, drought and heatwaves.
WHO’s Department of Public Health and Environment launched the Health in the Green Economy initiative in 2010 to review potential health and equity “co-benefits” of proposed climate change measures – as well as relevant risks.
This review examines mitigation strategies discussed in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which constitutes the most broad-based global review of mitigation options by scientific experts.
more
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(24), 13339; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182413339
The climate crisis threatens to exacerbate numerous climate-sensitive health risks, including heatw
...
ave mortality, malnutrition from reduced crop yields, water- and vector-borne infectious diseases, and respiratory illness from smog, ozone, allergenic pollen, and wildfires. Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stress the urgent need for action to mitigate climate change, underscoring the need for more scientific assessment of the benefits of climate action for health and wellbeing.
more
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established its Financial Mechanism to facilitate the provision and transfer of resources from developed to developing countries. The Global Environment Facility became the first ope
...
rating entity of the Financial Mechanism after the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC, and the GEF Council agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 1996. This agreement placed the GEF under the guidance of the COP, as Article 11 of the Convention states that the Financial Mechanism “shall function under the guidance of and be accountable to the Conference of the Parties, which shall decide on its policies, program priorities and eligibility criteria related to this Convention.”
The yearly COPs have provided an opportunity for Parties to update and renew their guidance to the GEF. To date, there have been 145 UNFCCC COP decisions and 526 paragraphs that offer guidance to the GEF (see Table 1). In addition, the Conferences of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) have issued 40 decisions and 115 paragraphs as guidance to the GEF (see Table 2). Key areas of Convention guidance have included: the GEF’s role as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism, including the Paris Agreement; the GEF’s institutional and procedural reform; transparency and access to GEF funds; country engagement and empowerment; reporting on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories; support for technology transfer; and ongoing programming in mitigation and adaptation.
more
Cities can help nations achieve their Paris Agreement commitment by supporting the implementation of transformational actions to increase the supply of renewable energy, improve building energy efficiency, increase access to affordable, low carbon transport options, and change consumption patterns.
...
Seventy per cent of C40 cities report that they are already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Cities need to adapt and improve their resilience to climate hazards that may impact them, both in the short-term and in future climate change scenarios. Cities are already leading the way with ambitious plans to accelerate action on climate change. With more political will, community support and collaboration, cities can make an even greater contribution to securing a climate safe future.
more
Climate change triggers mounting food insecurity, poverty and displacement in Africa
WaterAid is an international NGO that provides assistance for safe water supply,
sanitation and hygiene practice in the poor communities in the world.
The 2019 edition treating data for 2018 marks sustained international efforts dedicated to reporting on, analysing and understanding the year-to-year variations and long-term trends of a changing climate.
The following technical report outlines the rationale, process and results of a joint research study, coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), co-chaired by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Ministry of Environment and Sus
...
tainable Development in collaboration with the Climate and Climate Air Coalition, the Stockholm Environment Institute, the Clean Air Institute and leading international and national experts. A rationale section describes the links between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, short-lived climate pollutants, air pollution and adverse health outcomes. A summary of the research study describes how scenarios were modelled to examine the health and economic implications of raising ambition in Colombia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
more
The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis is now out (August 2021). The report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the
...
climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.
more
This free online course on Climate Change Negotiations and Health features key information on climate change and its impacts on human health, provides an overview of the international
...
climate change negotiations so far, and considers entry points to address health issues and priorities within climate change negotiations and policies.
The course provides clear, concise, and up-to-date information for anybody interested in addressing the health risks arising from climate change. The course is self-paced and includes a series of self-standing interactive lessons with different activities, exercises, case studies and videos, as well as links to other useful resources. Upon successful completion of the course, participants can receive a certificate of completion.
more
The roadmap highlights and advocates for the existing and potential key role of national public health institutes (NPHIs) in climate adaptation and mitigation, and how they contribute to climate
...
policies, research and action.
more
Expertise on #24 – Climate & Biodiversity - Expertise France
As climate impacts intensify across the globe, nations must dramatically increase funding and implementation of actions designed to help vulnerable nations and communities adapt to the climate storm
...
more
Climate change is having the largest impact on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Within this group, 20% are people with disabilities, who are nearly always doubly disadvantaged.
Press Release for the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis
Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanisch