11.4 Health, environment and climate change

THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
L’ASSOCIATION MEDICALE MONDIALE, INC
ASOCIACION MEDICA MUNDIAL, INC
Centre International de Bureaux
Immeuble A “Keynes” Website : www.wma.net Postal Address :
13, chemin du Levant Telephone : (33) 4 50 40 75 75 Boîte Postale 63
01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Fax : (33) 4 50 40 59 37 01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Cedex
France E-mail address : wma@wma.net France
71st
World Health Assembly
11.4 Health, environment and climate change
May 2018
Honourable Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the World Medical Association, which
represents 9 million physicians around the world.
We are now the generation of medical professionals whose careers will span beyond 2050. We
intervene to advocate for the health of our current and future patients and communities.
We acknowledge the numerous health risks posed by climate change and the inequitable manner in
which these risks affect different countries and vulnerable groups. We agree that tackling climate
change offers opportunities to improve health through cleaner air, increased physical activity and
healthier diets, and through action on all the social determinants of health. We recognize the Paris
Agreement as an important public health step forward in addressing climate change, but we believe
that every country must work to ensure that the increase in global average temperature is limited to
less than 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.
We welcome the elevation of climate change as a key priority and the new focus on small island
developing states and encourage the WHO to explore how it can support strong commitment on loss
and damage associated with climate change which will be particularly dire for those countries. We
urge for a wider intersectoral and population-based public health approach to ensure that health is
included in countries commitments, sustainable development strategies and national adaptation
plans through Health in All Policies approach. We urge Member States to ensure the fulfilments
with respect to their commitments to the Paris Agreement through innovative national and
international financing mechanisms to build resilient and adaptive health systems and attain the
Sustainable Development Goals.
As part of the health community, protecting people from the health impacts of climate change is one
of our utmost priorities.
Thank you