Global goal on adaptation indicators must take health into account throughout – new report

As climate change continues to fuel record-breaking temperatures and unprecedented climatic events, country climate change negotiators are being urged to put health at the heart of adaptation efforts in order to save lives and protect wellbeing.

The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) is a powerful tool to help drive action on climate change adaptation. Strong adaptation targets across sectors, including health, that were agreed at COP28 provide a clear vision for the structure of a global goal. But countries still need to agree indicators to measure progress against these targets with key negotiations beginning at COP29 in Baku and taking place throughout early 2025.

Climate change is increasing ill health and costing lives both directly by increasing the likelihood and intensity of heatwaves and flooding and indirectly by increasing the spread of disease and damaging food systems. Often, the communities most affected have the least available resources to adapt to these growing health threats.

‘Designing global indicators: a need for health equity’ a new report outlining how health measures can be integrated into the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), has been published ahead of COP29 by Wellcome, the global health foundation that supports science to solve urgent health challenges.

Dr Alan Dangour, Director of Climate & Health, said: “If we truly put health at the heart of the Global Goal on Adaptation, we can begin to shape a future that is equitable for all. Our report aims to guide the development of indicators, so that countries can begin to implement the actions that will protect the health of everyone, right away.”

The report urges negotiators to consider five guiding principles in setting indicators:  

• Health outcomes should be measured with indicators across different targets and sectors. Food, agriculture, infrastructure and transport are all sectors that can have profound knock-on effects on our health.
•  Considering health impacts across sectors can reduce the risk of maladaptation and unintended adverse health consequences. 
  Both global and regional indicators are needed to account for the different climate-induced health threats that countries and regions face. 
• Some communities are disproportionately affected, with limited resources for adaptation: they must not be left behind.  
  Robust climate information and climate services are needed to ensure that indicators remain relevant to climate adaptation as the conditions change. 
• Countries need strong infrastructure and clear systems to support the collection of data, and the measurement and reporting of progress. Additional support, resources and capacity are critical for countries to do this effectively. 
• Countries need to ensure an evidence-based approach guided by the best available science, traditional knowledge and local expertise.    

The negative effects of climate change will increase and become more visible with every increase in global temperature. At COP29, Countries need to agree to take robust adaptation action alongside mitigation efforts to protect populations from severe health consequences.  The sooner the transition to decarbonised energy is made, the greater the health benefits.  

Dr Alan Dangour, director of climate and health at Wellcome, continued:  

“People around the world are already facing escalating threats to their health due to climate change. We need a two-pronged approach to adapt to our current reality and urgently to mitigate any future warming. This is the only way to ensure that we can protect people’s health and ultimately, save lives.

“Wellcome will be at COP29, making the case that evidence-based policies to protect both the health of people and our planet must be at the heart of climate action.”

Wellcome is funding transformative research across different regions, countries and communities to help fill gaps in understanding of how climate change affects human health and to generate evidence on the most effective, locally relevant climate mitigation and adaptation actions to benefit health.  

Wellcome recently announced a US$25mn grant to support the World Health Organisation (WHO) to expand its urgent work on the health effects of climate change and a US6$mn grant to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) to strengthen the delivery of climate information for health decision makers.

With more high-quality evidence from research, better policies, and more urgent action, Wellcome believes it can help to avert catastrophic climate breakdown in a way that creates a healthier future for everyone.