Azerbaijan's COP29 to facilitate healthy transition to net-zero emissions Report by Lancet Countdown

UK's Lancet Countdown journal has prepared an annual report on climate change and health. 

In its report, Lancet Countdown unveiled that the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) to be held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku will provide additional opportunities to secure the financial support necessary for a healthy transition to net-zero emissions, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

The Lancet Countdown project, which monitors progress in health and climate change, was established in the year when the Paris Agreement came into force. Its aim is to annually assess the impact of climate change on human health at global, regional, and national levels.

The 2024 report, prepared by 122 leading researchers from UN institutions and academic institutes worldwide, reveals the most alarming findings within eight years of monitoring.

The data indicate unprecedented threats to human well-being, health, and survival due to the rapidly changing climate. Some 10 out of 15 indicators tracking climate-related health hazards have reached new alarming highs. Heat-related mortality among individuals over 65 has surged by a record 167 per cent compared to the 1990s.

Rising temperatures are increasingly affecting physical activity and sleep quality, which in turn impacts both physical and mental health. Extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and dust storms, are becoming more frequent and intense, posing a threat to the lives of millions. In 2023, exposure to heat put individuals engaged in outdoor physical activities at a record risk of moderate or higher heat stress for 27.7 per cent more hours than the average during the 1990s.

During 1961-1990 and 2014-2023, 61 per cent of the global land area experienced an increase in the number of days with extreme precipitation, which in turn raises the risks of flooding, the spread of infectious diseases, and water contamination. Moreover, 48 per cent of the global land area experienced at least one month of extreme drought in 2023.

The increase in drought occurrences and periods of abnormal heat between 1981 and 2010 resulted in an additional 151 million people facing moderate or severe food insecurity in 124 countries explored in 2022, marking the highest recorded level. 

Meanwhile, changes in precipitation patterns and rising temperatures are facilitating the transmission of deadly infectious diseases, such as dengue fever, malaria, West Nile virus-related illnesses, and vibrio infections. Compounding these impacts, climate change is affecting the social and economic conditions that underpin health and well-being.

Average annual economic losses from extreme weather events increased by 23 per cent from 2010 to 2014 and from 2019 to 2023, reaching $227 billion—a figure that exceeds the GDP of approximately 60 per cent of the world's economies.

Despite years of monitoring that highlights urgent health threats stemming from inaction on climate change, risks to human health are exacerbated by long-standing delays in adaptation efforts. Most countries remain poorly equipped to protect their populations from escalating threats.  

After decades of delays in addressing climate change, preventing the most serious health consequences now demands coordinated, structural, and sustainable changes across various sectors of human activity. It is important to emphasize that a global transformation of financial systems is necessary. During the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai in 2023, a dedicated health-themed day was introduced for the first time.

A total of 151 countries endorsed the UAE Declaration on Climate and Health, while the Global Goal on Adaptation established specific targets related to health. The results of the first Global Assessment of the Paris Agreement also recognized the right to health and a healthy environment, urging parties to take further action to adapt healthcare systems.

This opened up a new opportunity to prioritize the survival of humanity. At the upcoming COP29 conference in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, decisions are expected to be made regarding the management of the loss and damage fund and the approval of a New Collective Quantified Goal for climate financing.

This will provide additional opportunities to secure the financial support needed for a healthy transition to net-zero emissions. The involvement of the healthcare sector in these processes will be crucial to ensuring that funding mechanisms optimize the positive impacts of climate measures on health while accounting for economic and non-economic losses and damages.

This interaction and the outlined outcomes will be key to ensuring that financing fully supports the most affected countries, helping to address and minimize inequalities exacerbated by climate change. 

The Lancet Countdown aims to place health at the forefront of how decision-makers comprehend and address climate change. By providing robust scientific data, the Lancet Countdown strives to inform policies that enhance the health benefits of climate initiatives, creating a world where all communities can flourish. 

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will be held in Azerbaijan on November 11-22. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary session in Dubai on December 11, 2023. During two weeks, Baku will become a global hub, welcoming around 70,000 to 80,000 international guests. 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, aimed at preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system. 

The abbreviation COP means "Conference of the Parties" and refers to the highest decision-making body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the UNFCCC. The Convention has 198 member states. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, the COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in Berlin in March 1995, and its secretariat is based in Bonn.

By Naila Huseynova