Global Call to the COP31 Presidency: Center Health in the Action Agenda
Seventy-four organizations from around the world, working in health, environment, climate, and human rights, have issued a joint call, led by the Right to Clean Air Platform (THHP), to the COP31 Presidency.
The call urges the inclusion of health as a dedicated priority within the COP31 Action Agenda and its integration at the centre of all climate policies, including those related to energy, transport, industry, water, agriculture, waste, and adaptation.
The Climate Crisis Is Also a Health Crisis
The climate crisis is not only an environmental challenge; it is also a growing public health and human rights crisis. However, health was absent as a distinct priority in the initial draft of the Action Agenda prepared by the COP31 Presidency.
The effectiveness of climate policies should be evaluated based on their ability to protect and enhance public health. Health should not be viewed as a separate issue; instead, it must be a primary focus guiding all climate-related policies—this includes energy, transportation, industry, water management, agriculture, waste management, and adaptation strategies. Climate action that fails to prioritize ending dependence on fossil fuels cannot effectively protect health.
For this reason, the call urges the COP31 Presidency to place health at the center of the Action Agenda, integrate health across all agenda priorities, and recognize fossil fuels as health-harming products.
Key Demands of the Call
- Ensure that health is established as a dedicated priority within the COP31 Action Agenda;
- Secure the integration of health as a strong, cross-cutting topic across all the pillars of the COP31 Action Agenda;
- Explicitly recognise the right to health and the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as guiding principles for climate action;
- Recognise fossil fuels as health-harming products and explicitly address their lifecycle health impacts;
- Advance policies that support a just and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels, alongside clean energy transitions;
- Promote mitigation and adaptation actions that deliver immediate and long-term health benefits across sectors, including air quality, waste management, water and sanitation, and sustainable food systems;
- Encourage Parties to integrate health and air pollution considerations into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and climate strategies;
- Prioritise the protection of communities disproportionately affected by fossil fuel-related harms and climate impacts, particularly those facing structural inequalities.
A First Important Step
In parallel to the submission of the call to the COP31 Presidency, a new Action Agenda theme titled “Building climate-resilient, low-carbon and equity-focused health systems for the future: Dynamic and Resilient Health Systems” was added to the COP31 Action Agenda.
The incorporation of health into the Action Agenda is a noteworthy advancement, particularly following its initial omission in the draft prepared by the COP31 Presidency. We view this addition as a positive and impactful development.
This development was influenced by calls from international health organisations, civil society, and academia, including the joint appeal, coordinated by THHP and endorsed by 74 organisations from different parts of the world. It is also significant as an indication that the voices of non-state actors are being heard in shaping COP31.
However, given the scale of the health impacts of the climate crisis, this step alone is not sufficient. Health should not be seen as a standalone topic; rather, it must be a central priority that influences all aspects of climate policy.
International Support Messages
Prof. Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood
Executive Director, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health
“The inclusion of health as the tenth Action Agenda theme is not a symbolic gesture — it is a much-needed acknowledgement that the climate crisis is already a health emergency. From rising seas to deadly heat, the bodies of the most vulnerable bear the true cost of our collective inaction. Bonn must now translate this recognition into binding commitments, with health systems in the Global South at the centre — not the periphery — of climate finance and adaptation planning.”
Dr Marina Romanello
Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change
“The latest data from the Lancet Countdown shows that the health impacts of climate change are at record levels, claiming lives, harming health, damaging livelihoods, and exacerbating inequalities worldwide. Unless climate action is accelerated at scale, the world will continue down a dangerous path of escalating threats to health and survival. Addressing climate change through health-promoting actions could immediately save tens of millions of lives annually through cleaner air, healthier diets, liveable cities, thriving economies and stronger health systems. As countries prepare for COP31, there is a clear imperative to ensure that climate change action delivers these transformative health gains, protecting lives and enabling a more prosperous and resilient future.”
Dr Jeni Miller
Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance
“COP31 is an opportunity to show that protecting health is not a side issue for climate negotiations, but rather a measure of whether the climate action taken by governments is working. Health outcomes for real people must shape decisions on energy, transport, industry, agriculture, waste and adaptation. Decision-makers must also recognise fossil fuels for what they are: health-harming products across their entire lifecycle. Governments cannot build resilient health systems while continuing to fuel the climate crisis that is overwhelming them.”
Supporting Organizations
A total of 74 global, regional, and national organisations endorsed the call led by the Right to Clean Air Platform (THHP), based in Türkiye. Signatories include Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, the European Respiratory Society (ERS), the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), NCD Alliance, the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA), the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia University, 350.org, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), and the Association of Public Health Specialists (HASUDER), among others.
Signatories (Full list)
350.org (Global)
350 for Climate Association (Türkiye)
Africa Research and Impact Network (Kenya)
Africa Sustainable Development Initiative (Nigeria)
African Coalition on Green Growth (Botswana)
Aid Life Learn Environment (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Alianza Médica contra el Cambio Climático (Spain)
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (United States)
Association for the Right to Clean Air (Türkiye)
Association of Occupational Medicine Specialists (Türkiye)
Association of Public Health Specialists (Türkiye)
Associazione Medici per l’Ambiente – ISDE (Italia)
Banka Earth Foundation (India)
Carbone Guinée (Guinea)
Center for International Environmental Law (Global)
Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Global)
Center of Education and Research on Health and Climate Change (Niger)
Clean Air Fund (Global)
Climate Action Network Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Climate and Health Alliance (Australia)
Climate Cares, University of Oxford & Imperial College London (United Kingdom)
Climate Psychiatry Alliance (United States of America)
Collegium Ramazzini (Global)
Community Climate and Energy Shield Initiative (Uganda)
Doctors for the Environment Australia (Australia)
Emmaus International (Zimbabwe)
Emonyo Yefwe International (Kenya)
European Public Health Association (Europe)
European Respiratory Society (Europe)
Fam An Mars (Mauritius)
Friends of Vulnerable Village Children (Uganda)
Fundación Salud por Derecho (European Union)
Fundacja Rodzice dla Klimatu (Parents For Climate Foundation) (Poland)
Global Climate and Health Alliance (Global)
Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, Columbia University (United States)
Global Enviro-Action (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Global Mental Health Action Network COP31 Short-term Action Group (Global)
Green Thought Association (Türkiye)
GreenLight Initiative (Nigeria & Ghana)
Greenpeace Türkiye (Türkiye)
Human Rights Education In Schools Network (Kenya)
Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona (Spain)
International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (Global)
International-Lawyers.Org (Global)
Irish Doctors for the Environment (Ireland)
Lekeh Development Foundation (Nigeria)
Mamás y Papás por el Clima (Mexico)
Médecins Sans Frontières (Global)
MMBSHS Trust (India)
NCD Alliance (Global)
Nigerian Women Agro Allied Farmers Association (Nigeria)
Nurses Across the Borders Humanitarian Initiative (Nigeria)
Our Common Air (Global)
Our Kids’ Climate (Global)
Pan African Health Professionals Organisation (Ghana)
Psychiatric Association of Türkiye (Türkiye)
Quest for Growth and Development Foundation (Nigeria)
Regenerate Africa (Uganda)
Right to Clean Air Platform (Türkiye)
Shine Africa Foundation-Teso (Uganda)
Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders (United States of America)
Society of Physicians for the Environment (Türkiye)
Southern Africa Climate Change Network (Botswana)
Southern Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance (SADC region)
The Lancet Countdown for Health and Climate Change (Global)
Turkish Hand Society for Surgery of the Hand And Upper Extremity (Türkiye)
Turkish Medical Association (Türkiye)
Turkish Neurological Society (Türkiye)
Turkish Respiratory Society (Türkiye)
Turkish Society of Dermatology (Türkiye)
Turkish Society of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Asthma (Türkiye)
Turkish Thoracic Society (Türkiye)
Warrior Moms (India)
West African Institute of Public Health (Nigeria/Africa)
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Türkiye (Türkiye)
Yuva Association (Türkiye)
Zimbabwe Climate Change Coalition (Zimbabwe)
Global Call to the COP31 Presidency
[PDF link]Press Release – 8 June 2026
[PDF link]
