A global report calls for climate change to be recognised as a global health emergency
The 2026 report by The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change reveals that many of the health risks and harms arising from climate change increased more rapidly in the decade since the signing of the Paris Agreement (2016–2025) than in the previous decade (2006–2015). The report, which draws on the work of 146 researchers from more than 30 countries, calls for climate change to be officially recognised and addressed as a global health emergency, and for health to set the agenda for both climate policies and funding priorities.
Mikel González - climate countdown
Mikel González
This tenth Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change provides ample evidence that several health impacts have increased more rapidly since the Paris Agreement than in the previous decade. One of the most significant findings is that in 2023, heat was associated with some 710,000 deaths worldwide, more than 70 per cent of which were attributable to climate change. In light of this evidence, the authors call for climate change to be formally declared a global health emergency.
Although progress has been made since Paris, climate action remains out of step with its targets. Global investment in clean energy reached a record $2.1 trillion in 2025, almost double that allocated to fossil fuels. However, the largest oil and gas companies are planning production levels far exceeding those compatible with the Paris target, which, in my view, could result in stranded assets.
The report also shows that the 87 countries analysed provided fossil fuel subsidies worth $906,000 million in 2024 – almost ten times the revenue generated through carbon pricing. Correcting these economic signals is key to accelerating the progress already being made.
Romanello et al.
- Peer reviewed
- Research article
