Climate change at the centre of global health security

People walk past solar panels mounted on the roof of a building, part of a solar power microgrid, in the village of Dharnai in Jehanabad, Bihar, India. [Courtesy, Bloomberg]

There is a glaring evidence that climate change is increasingly pushing both Global North and Global South to extreme edges in many dimensions. Millions of local communities in developing countries are the most affected by the negative effects of climate change.

As the global community braces for more notable escalation presented by unprecedented climate catastrophe the world is confronting today, millions of local communities around the world will witness cascading impacts of extreme weather events such as food crisis and severe droughts.

On the heels of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that continues to spiral humanitarian catastrophe and millions of people fleeing to the neighbouring countries as conflict-induced refugees, United Nations (UN) body of scientists Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) released alarming Climate Change Report, pointing out a stark reality.

According to IPCC scientific climate report, keeping the rise in global warming at 1.5C this century based on Paris Agreement is crucial to limit the scale of dangers from climate change.

With glaring evidence that climate change affects all multi-facet of human life and local communities are increasingly burdened with disproportionate impacts, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that climate pledges and actions must be turned into reality now, adding that "a shifting to renewable energy will mend our broken global energy mix and offer hope to millions of people who are already suffering from the impacts of climate change."

Today, the world is increasingly facing a number of unprecedented challenges arising from rapid loss of biodiversity that continue to put pressure on governments around the world. United Nation Environmental Programme Executive Director Inger Anderson cautioned countries to upstream climate action and long-term strategies for 2050 without any further delay.

Governments around the world should develop climate policies and framework to strengthen climate action which will elevate and mainstream development needs of local communities to drive economic growth and advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level by amplifying all voices for an inclusive and resilient world. These will promote global diversity, equity and equality.

Shaping the overall environment of global collective climate action in many respects, the fundamental reality and greatest tragedy will depend on the great need for international community to cooperate and recognise that the global Agenda 2030 for SDGs cannot be achieved without sustainable, and universal global peace. The detrimental effects of climate change affect every facets of human life from political, economic, social, environmental and health security.