The world’s leaders will be meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, this month to discuss policy actions and finance to address climate change at COP29. Following devastating floods in Spain and across Central Europe, along with hurricanes and wildfires in many nations this summer, climate change is once again, quite rightfully, at the forefront of our minds. Yet, national governments are falling woefully behind in their targets and the health impacts of climate change are still rarely discussed, leading to many underestimating the health risks associated with environmental shifts

Impact

Many governments remain significantly behind in reaching their climate change targets. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. Yet, implementation of current plans will only take us to level only 2.6% lower than in 2019. That has major health implications.

At the same time, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD), including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), affect nearly half a billion people worldwide and continues to grow. And it remains a major killer – with nearly 4 million deaths recorded from asthma and COPD in 2019. Growing pollution and climate change will affect many more in the years to come unless urgent action is taken.

COVID-19

At Grayling, we’ve worked on respiratory conditions for clients to highlight the impact that climate change, pollution and industrial legacies can have at an individual and population level. Yet, despite the impact of COVID-19 and the renewed focus on respiratory conditions that was created as a result of the epidemic, respiratory conditions are rarely a policy priority. There may be signs of a shift with the WHO recently announcing a new Special Envoy, José Luis Castro, who will act as WHO Director-General Special Envoy for Chronic Respiratory Diseases.

Technology and medicines

If policy is being slow to change to meet the needs of respiratory patients, there is at least growing investment in technology and medicines. New inhalers and injections offer severe asthma sufferers with new options, helping to cut deaths. New treatment paths and person-centred medicines and support also offer patients greater protection. Yet the number of patients with asthma and COPD is expected to grow, so it will be more important than ever before to focus on preventative measures and cutting pollution levels to ensure that such treatments are affordable and available to those who need them most.

The role of communications

Communications has a vital role to play to ensure that people are receiving the right treatment at the right time. But for communicators there are a number of wider challenges: How do we make policy makers take the threat of respiratory conditions seriously and have appropriate policies in place? How do we bring climate concerns and healthcare policy closer together? How do we make patients take the health risks of climate change seriously? And how do we make sure that patients are being directed to the most appropriate treatment to meet their needs?

All eyes will be on national governments at COP29. Missing the opportunity of urgent action will not just be an environmental disaster, but also a health one.

For more information or if you’d like to like to speak to our global healthcare teams, please contact ross.laird@grayling.com.