COP30 Day 4: Philanthropists pledge $300 million for climate-resilient healthcare

More than 35 philanthropists have pledged $300 million at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, to strengthen public health systems facing rising climate-driven threats, through the Climate and Health Funders Coalition.

The fund aims to support the roughly 3.3 billion people who bear the greatest brunt of climate change, and will also finance the newly launched Health Action Plan.

The immediate focus is on advancing innovative solutions, policies, and research related to extreme heat, air pollution, and climate-sensitive infectious diseases. The fund will also prioritise integrating critical climate and health data.

Launched on Day 4 of the annual UN climate summit, the Health Action Plan is designed to help countries—especially the most vulnerable—build robust healthcare systems capable of responding to climate impacts.

It is also the first international climate adaptation plan exclusively focused on health, according to the UN.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said, “Health is the most compelling reason for climate action, but for too long, health has been a footnote in climate negotiations.”

Banking on influencers

Continuing efforts to counter climate misinformation, the gathering also highlighted the role content creators and influencers can play in informing wider audiences about the real-world impacts of climate change.

Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), emphasised the need for the public to prioritise climate change in their daily lives and act accordingly.

“There are few higher priorities than our health, which makes this work at the climate–health nexus so crucial,” he said.

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