Climate and health: medicine academies launch international front to tackle climate impacts on health

Based on a plan launched at COP30, institutions from several countries join forces to promote health system adaptations to tackle the climate crisis

Samuel Fernandes

Mascot Zé Gotinha, wearing a white uniform and a SUS badge, poses alongside a colorful panel with an Indigenous illustration and floral elements during BHAP Day at the 2025 Global Conference on Climate and Health in Belém

Extreme climate events such as severe heatwaves, and worsening air quality are but some of the direct effects of the climate crisis on human health. Scientific studies indicate that climate change has intensified cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, spread infectious diseases, and aggravated mental disorders.

The estimate comes as a stark warning: if effective measures are not adopted, the impacts of climate change could cause up to 14 million deaths by the end of the century.

Although already widely discussed by researchers, the connection between climate and health has only recently been absorbed into the global political debate. In 2023, for the first time, the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) included Health Day, a space dedicated to the relationship between climate and health. At COP30, held in Belém (Pará State) in 2025, this commitment was strengthened with the launch of the Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP).

The BHAP sets targets for adapting health systems to the effects of climate change. The main priorities of the plan include:

Strengthening health surveillance with early warning systems;
Formulating evidence-based policies, incorporating climate data into health decisions;
Innovation and sustainability in the sector’s infrastructures and supply chains.

Action led by academies of medicine

Heedful of the climate emergency, health institutions are also taking a leading role, such as the Global Coalition of Academies of Medicine on Climate and Health (GCAMCH), an international coalition featured in an article published in the “Comment” section of The Lancet in November 2025.

“Protecting the planet and protecting human health are inseparable imperatives,” warns the article in The Lancet.

Created at the initiative of the National Academy of Medicine (USA) and the National Academy of Medicine (Brazil), the GCAMCH engages international networks to expedite implementation of the BHAP.

The plan is described in the article as a “landmark framework to integrate health within climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.”

Practical commitments of the GCAMCH

During COP30, the GCAMCH already expressed support for the BHAP. It is now striving to put commitments into practice through:

Reducing emissions from the health sector;
Research on regional vulnerabilities to climate change;
Drawing up evidence-based guidelines for the adaptation of health systems;
Professional training, with workshops, meetings, and educational materials on climate and health;
Strengthening local networks, recognizing that the effects of the climate crisis vary according to the territory.

The coalition extended beyond the borders of Brazil and the USA: the article published in The Lancet was signed by representatives of 30 academies of medicine from around the world, who in a joint statement reasserted their commitment to the BHAP and to coordinated action on the climate crisis.

“Together we voice our support for collective action that safeguards the health and wellbeing of all people now and for generations to come,” state the signatory academies in the article.

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