The report forms part of the Belém Health Action Plan’s (BHAP) launch at COP30, with a focus on the intersection of implementation and evidence
About the COP30 Special Report
The COP30 Special Report on Health and Climate Change synthesises the global health system and adaptation literature. The report’s exploration is structured by the Belém Health Action Plan, and enhanced by the new Belém Health Action Library, a repository of health system adaptation case studies hosted on ATACH.
While it is focused on health sector adaptation, it also recognises two critical interdependencies: that these efforts will ultimately be unsuccessful without urgent mitigation; and that health ministries depend on the engagement, support, and collaboration of every sector, and every part of society.
The report was prepared under the guidance of an Expert Advisory Group of global public health leaders, chaired by the NUS Centre for Sustainable Medicine and with the leadership of the WHO and the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
Key Recommendation
Six central conclusions for health policy-makers and practitioners emerge from this extensive evidence base.
Flexibility is the foundation of resilience. Action must consider the long-term: Only 15% of health organisations globally deploy climate-ready building codes for new construction, a known solution for resilient infrastructure. Systems must promote flexibly and avoid path-dependency to enable dynamic choices which strengthen long-term resilience.
There is now more than enough evidence to act at scale, today. 116 WHO Member States have undertaken country-level health adaptation planning. Translating planning to action is contingent on specialised institutional architecture that enables action, such as dedicated Climate and Health Units within ministries, cross-government coordination mechanisms, and formalised accountability.
There can be no climate resilience without health equity. Older populations, migrants, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities are under represented in the adaptation literature, signalling gaps in priority around those most vulnerable to climate change. Adaptation strategies will fail unless they address the root cause of health inequity, and build equity into all practice.
Effective adaptation requires investment in intervention evaluation. Over 60% of National Adaptation Plans lack formal tracking. Enhancing the analytical capacity of national institutions is essential, including common taxonomies, assessment standards, and a focus on local context and scalability.
A step-change in resource mobilisation is needed. Health sector adaptation interventions will require over USD 22 billion by 2035. Despite joint commitments to health sector adaptation since COP29, more is needed with a step-change in approach to deliver the Belém Health Action Plan.
Urgent and sustained mitigation across all sectors is critical. Adaptation alone has physical, financial, and technological limits. This highlights the Bélem Health Action Plan’s links to the Paris Agreement, and the importance of rapid decarbonisation across all sectors of the economy.
Introducing the Belém Health Action Library
The COP30 Special Report includes evidence from across the field, and spotlights case studies collected uniquely for this endeavour. These case studies are hosted on the all new Belém Health Action Library, through the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH). This new library is a repository that documents stories of health system adaptation actions taken from around the world. Stories span community efforts to the development of entire Climate and Health Units within governments. By focusing on practical actions, this library underscores the importance of taking action on climate and health, the heart of the Belém Health Action Plan’s message.