Dr. Jeremy Hess contributed to annual health and climate change report published in The Lancet
CONTACT: Lisa Van Cise, DEOHS communications director: vancisel@uw.edu
SEATTLE (October 30, 2024)
A researcher from the University of Washington (UW) Schools of Medicine and Public Health contributed new findings presented in the eighth global annual indicator report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. While people in every country face unprecedented health threats from the changing climate, the report highlights continued investment in fossil fuels and lagging funding for action to protect health, exacerbating the risks people face.
“This year’s stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction reveals the most concerning findings yet in our eight years of monitoring,” warned Dr. Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at University College London. “Once again, last year broke climate change records—with extreme heat waves, deadly weather events, and devastating wildfires affecting people around the world. No individual or economy on the planet is immune from the health threats of climate change. The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions compounds these dangerous health impacts, and is threatening to reverse the limited progress made so far, and put a healthy future further out of reach.”
She added: “Despite this threat, we see financial resources continue to be invested in the very things that undermine our health. Repurposing the trillions of dollars being invested in, or subsidising, the fossil fuel industry every year would provide the opportunity to deliver a fair, equitable transition to clean energy and energy efficiency, and a healthier future, ultimately benefiting the global economy.”
Dr. Jeremy Hess, a contributing author to the Lancet Countdown 2024 Report, senior author on the accompanying U.S. Country Brief, and professor at the UW said:
“This year’s report brings the health impacts of climate change into ever clearer focus. We experienced record warming in 2023 and health impacts are worsening accordingly in the U.S. and globally. There are bright spots, including the unprecedented investments that the federal government in the U.S. has made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and leveraging the transition to clean, renewable energy to improve the health of those most affected and support communities that have historically heavily relied on fossil fuel-intensive industries, but also daunting challenges as the planet continues to warm. We badly need more investment in preparedness and resilience in the U.S. and globally, and to continue to push for viewing both impacts and opportunities through a health lens.”
Key findings
- In 2023, people were exposed to, on average, an unprecedented 50 more days of health-threatening temperatures than expected without climate change. Extreme drought affected 48% of the global land area - the second-highest level recorded – and the higher frequency of heatwaves and droughts was associated with 151 million more people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity than annually between 1981 and 2010.
- Authors shine a light on governments and companies “fuelling the fire” with persistent investment in fossil fuels, all-time high energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and years of delays in adaptation that are narrowing the survival chances of people across the globe.
- Report underscores that the financial resources to deliver net zero emissions and secure a healthy future are available. Yet governments and companies are spending trillions of dollars on fossil fuel subsidies and investments that are making climate change worse—money that could be redirected towards clean renewable energy and activities that benefit people’s health, livelihoods and wellbeing.
Amidst these concerning findings, the report highlights new opportunities to put health at the centre of the world’s response to climate change, including at the upcoming ‘finance COP’ in Azerbaijan. The Lancet Countdown report contributes to the evidence needed to inform the negotiations, and deliver truly health-protecting climate change action.
Responding to the report publication, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres (who was not involved in writing the report) said: “Record-high emissions are posing record-breaking threats to our health. We must cure the sickness of climate inaction – by slashing emissions, protecting people from climate extremes, and ending our fossil fuel addiction – to create a fairer, safer, and healthier future for all.”
Find out more, and read the full report at lancetcountdown.org
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Lancet Countdown works with key strategic partners:
- The Lancet Countdown was founded by Wellcome and continues to receive core strategic and financial support.
- The Lancet Countdown works in strategic partnership with WHO.
- The Lancet Countdown is led by University College London’s Institute for Global Health.
The Lancet Countdown’s global report represents the work of 122 leading experts from 57 academic institutions and UN agencies globally. A full list of authors can be found in the report.