WHO Director-General's remarks at the XVII BRICS Leaders’ Summit, session on environment, COP 30, and global health – 7 July 2025

Your Excellency President Lula da Silva,

Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,

Dear colleagues and friends,

I commend President Lula and the Brazil BRICS presidency for prioritising the environment, COP30 and global health in this Leaders' Summit;

And we welcome your strong support for WHO and for global health in the Rio de Janeiro Declaration.

I also commend all BRICS countries for the launch of the Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases, which focuses on a range of underlying causes of diseases, including climate change.

I have three points to make about the existential threat of climate change.

First, health is the strongest argument for climate action, as the Secretary General stated earlier.

Healthy people cannot live on a sick planet.

Climate change is increasing disasters, driving hunger and water scarcity, and fuelling the spread of disease - both communicable diseases including malaria, dengue and cholera, and noncommunicable illness including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Air pollution kills seven million people every year.

The impacts of the climate crisis not only affect human health, but also cost billions of dollars in lost productivity.

The climate crisis is a health crisis, which means that health must be central to climate discussions.

We thank Brazil for including a health day in the COP 30 agenda, and we look forward to the launch of the Belem Health Action Plan.

We ask all countries to ensure this year's COP declaration includes strong, specific commitments to address both the health impacts of climate change, and its root causes.

Second, we have proven tools to adapt to the health impacts; the challenge is implementation.

This includes early warning systems for extreme heat;

Solar energy for health facilities;

Strengthening water, sanitation and hygiene;

Expanding access to cleaner household energy;

And enhancing fiscal policies on fossil fuel subsidies.

We ask all countries to implement these tools, and WHO stands ready to support you to do that.

And third, we need new sources of funding.

WHO is supporting countries to mitigate the health impacts of climate change, but mitigation alone is not enough.

So we're also working with multilateral development banks to increase funding for adaptation for health.

WHO also leads the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health - or ATACH - which brings together over 90 countries and many partners to support health-promoting climate interventions.

We ask all countries to mobilize financing for climate-health initiatives, including ATACH.

Health is the strongest argument for climate action;

We have the tools to do something about it;

But we need new sources of funding to implement them.

We look forward to partnering with President Dilma Rousseff on the NDB's health projects, including "Smart Hospitals", that she outlined earlier today.

WHO remains committed to working with all of you in pursuit of our shared vision: the highest attainable standard of health, not as a luxury for some, but a right for all.

Obrigado. I thank you.