The 8th annual report from the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveals unprecedented global health risks as climate change drives new records in extreme weather and temperature. The report, compiled by experts from 57 academic institutions and UN agencies, found that in 2023 alone, people experienced an additional 50 days of extreme heat beyond what would have occurred without climate change. The toll of this crisis includes rising health threats from prolonged heatwaves, increased drought, and food insecurity affecting an additional 151 million people since the 1980s.
The report calls out governments and corporations for continuing to fund fossil fuels, which are pushing greenhouse gas emissions to record levels and narrowing the path to survival for many. Authors argue that the financial resources to achieve net-zero emissions and a healthier future are within reach, but are being misallocated towards fossil fuels. The trillions of dollars currently funneled into fossil fuel subsidies and investments, the authors contend, could instead support clean energy, creating a positive impact on health, livelihoods, and the global economy.
"This year's stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction reveals the most concerning findings yet in our eight years of monitoring," said Dr Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at University College London. "Once again, last year broke climate change records - with extreme heat waves, deadly weather events, and devastating wildfires affecting people around the world. No individual or economy on the planet is immune from the health threats of climate change. The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions compounds these dangerous health impacts, and is threatening to reverse the limited progress made so far, and put a healthy future further out of reach."
The report urges a health-centered transformation of financial systems to redirect funds from fossil fuels to zero-emissions initiatives. This shift, authors argue, would yield immediate health and economic benefits through improved access to clean energy, cleaner air and water, healthier diets, and sustainable job opportunities.
Record-breaking events in 2023 included the highest levels of heat-related deaths among those over 65, which increased 167% from the 1990s, and an unprecedented average of 1,512 hours of temperatures posing moderate heat stress risk for people outdoors. Rising temperatures have also contributed to a 49% increase in lost labor hours globally since the 1990s, translating into significant income losses, particularly in lower-income countries.
Between 2014 and 2023, 61% of the world's land area saw increases in extreme rainfall events, heightening the risk of flooding, disease, and water contamination. These conditions have exacerbated food insecurity, with an additional 151 million people in 124 countries experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity in 2022 alone.
The warming climate has also escalated the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, with the transmission risk of dengue by Aedes albopictus mosquitoes increasing by 46% over the past decade compared to the 1950s. Dengue cases exceeded five million globally in 2023, affecting over 80 countries and territories.
"People in all parts of the world are increasingly suffering from the financial and health effects of climate change, and disadvantaged communities in resource-limited nations are often the worst affected, yet provided with the least financial and technological protections," said Prof. Wenjia Cai, Lancet Countdown Working Group 4 Co-Chair at Tsinghua University. "Adaptation is failing to keep pace with the rapidly growing health threats of climate change, and with limits to adaptation looming, and universal health coverage still a pipe dream for more than half the world's population, financial support is urgently needed to strengthen health systems to better protect people."
The report highlights that in 2023, fossil fuel investments accounted for 36.6% of global energy investments, with many governments raising fossil fuel subsidies in response to energy prices following the conflict in Ukraine. Fossil fuel subsidies across 86 countries totaled $1.4 trillion in 2022, with these funds exceeding 10% of national health spending in nearly half of these nations.
At the same time, the Loss and Damage Fund established at COP27 in 2022 saw only $700 million pledged, a fraction of the funds needed annually to assist vulnerable countries. In 2023, CO2 emissions from energy sources reached new heights, and nearly 182 million hectares of forest have been lost since the Paris Agreement took effect in 2016, weakening natural carbon absorption.
Prof. Stella Hartinger, a co-author and Director of the Lancet Countdown Latin America at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, commented, "Oil and gas companies - supported by many governments and the global financial system - continue to reinforce the world's addiction to fossil fuels. In a world in which survival depends on phasing out fossil fuels, these short-sighted investments set us up for financial turmoil as we pursue a liveable future. These perverse investments, coupled with the serious failure to make the necessary structural changes in the energy sector to support the net-zero transition, are jeopardising the economies on which people's livelihoods depend, and leaving the health and survival of millions of people at risk."
There are signs of progress: air pollution from fossil fuel combustion decreased by 7% from 2016 to 2021, thanks to reduced coal pollution, and global investment in clean energy grew by 10% in 2023, reaching $1.9 trillion and surpassing fossil fuel investments by 73%.
"Progress towards an equitable and healthy future requires a global transformation of financial systems, shifting resources away from the fossil-fuel based economy towards a zero-emissions future," said co-author Prof. Anthony Costello, Co-Chair of the Lancet Countdown. "For successful reform, people's health must be put front and centre of climate change policy to ensure the funding mechanisms protect wellbeing, reduce health inequities and maximise health gains, especially for the countries and communities that need it most."
Prof. Costello added, "Amidst global turmoil, the powerful and trusted leadership of the health community could hold the key to reversing these concerning trends and harnessing new opportunities to put the protection and promotion of health and survival at the centre of political agendas. Nowhere will this be more important than at COP29 where the financial transition will take centre stage, offering a vital opportunity to deliver a resilient, healthier future."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarked, "Record-high emissions are posing record-breaking threats to our health. We must cure the sickness of climate inaction - by slashing emissions, protecting people from climate extremes, and ending our fossil fuel addiction - to create a fairer, safer, and healthier future for all."
Research Report:The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action
Related Links
The Lancet
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation
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