Humanity can only win this global climate fight if we connect stronger climate actions to people's top priorities in their daily lives: Simon Stiell at COP30

Below are remarks from UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell delivered at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, at the Health and Climate Ministerial Meeting on 13 November 2025.

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

Dear friends,

It is a great honour to be here.

In a city like Belém, in the Amazon, we are reminded of the deep connection between human health and the health of our planet - and of our shared responsibility to take care of both.

We just had a little exercise session this morning to wake us up.

Across the world, people are living the daily reality that the climate crisis is also a public health crisis.

Rising temperatures, floods, droughts, and storms are claiming lives, fuelling diseases and malnutrition, and placing immense pressure on health systems.

According to the latest Lancet Countdown Report, heat-related deaths have surged 23% since the 1990s - now exceeding half a million deaths per year.

And vulnerable communities are hit the hardest - young children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing health conditions.

These are not statistics - they are families, communities, and futures already paying the price of global heating.

Every measure that strengthens resilience, cuts emissions, or protects ecosystems is also a public health intervention.

Cleaner air, safer water, sustainable food systems, and resilient infrastructure mean healthier communities and better lives - a triple win for human health, the economy, and the climate.

Under the Paris Agreement and the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, Parties have committed to protecting populations from climate-related health risks and building climate-resilient health systems.

The first Global Stocktake reinforced this call - urging greater ambition and support to reduce climate-related morbidity and mortality, especially amongst the most vulnerable.

Progress is emerging. Over 90% of national climate plans in our 2025 Synthesis report now include health considerations.

Every National Adaptation Plan submitted since 2024 addresses health risks - from heat stress and air pollution to infectious diseases.

Yet the challenges remain stark. Many health systems are fragile - lacking climate-trained personnel, resilient infrastructure, and adequate surveillance.

Watching super typhoons and flash floods rip through hospitals and local health clinics is heart-breaking.

But lamenting is not a strategy. We need real solutions.

Protecting health in a changing climate demands a whole-of-society approach.

Today's launch of the Belém Health Action Plan is a vital step forward. Led by the Government of Brazil and the World Health Organization, it integrates adaptation, equity, and climate justice - the three pillars of resilient societies.

It provides a unified framework to strengthen health-sector adaptation, all aligned with the Global Goal on Adaptation and the UAE-Belém Work Programme.

The Belém Health Action Plan gives us the blueprint. What we need now is sustained, coordinated, and well-financed action to turn its promises into protection for all.

Partnerships are key. They are the force-multipliers we need to win this global climate fight.

I'm pleased to say, the power of partnerships is on full display at COP30, with staunch allies of better climate and health outcomes stepping up their support.

A new Climate and Health Funders Coalition has committed an initial $300 million for integrated action to tackle both the causes of climate change and its consequences for health - accelerating solutions where they are needed most.

This Coalition will focus on helping convert the Belém Health Action Plan into real-world results that improve lives around the world.

At UN Climate Change we are very focused on solutions, and innovative partnerships to help deliver them.

Our new three-year collaboration with the Wellcome Trust will help to ensure robust health evidence informs more climate policy-making - across resilience-building, cutting greenhouse gas pollution, and communications.

This work will prioritise the real challenges people face, such as extreme heat, air pollution, infectious diseases, mental health, and food insecurity.

Because humanity can only win this global climate fight if we connect stronger climate actions to people's top priorities in their daily lives.

And there are few higher priorities than our health, which makes this work at the climate-health nexus so crucial.

I thank you.