Under the intense Amazon sun, where heat, flooding and infectious disease already shape daily life, Brazil used COP30 to launch the first global climate adaptation framework dedicated to the health sector. The Belém Health Action Plan gathered ministers, UN leaders and health authorities around a shared acknowledgment: climate change is no longer a distant risk to health systems but a present and escalating reality.
The plan’s debut marks one of COP30’s most consequential moments. With health impacts rising worldwide and vulnerable communities shouldering the heaviest burdens, the Belém Health Action Plan sets a new global baseline for what it means to prepare national health systems for a hotter, more volatile climate era.
A Global First for Climate and Health Policy
Launched on Thursday, November 13, the Belém Health Action Plan is the first international climate adaptation document focused specifically on health. It comes at a moment when national health systems face mounting climate pressures, from deadly heat to expanding infectious diseases.
COP30 CEO Ana Toni said the plan places Brazil “at the heart of global discussions on health and climate change,” noting that 80 countries and international partners have already engaged in its development. She emphasized the symbolism of bringing Brazil’s Unified Health System, SUS, into the center of climate negotiations.
Health Minister Alexandre Padilha underscored the political mandate behind the initiative, noting that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tasked Brazil with making COP30 the conference of “implementation and truth.” “There is no alternative but for governments and public policies to adapt and confront climate change,” he said.
Structured around three integrated pillars — surveillance and monitoring; evidence-based strategies and capacity building; and innovation, production and digital health — the Belém Health Action Plan embeds climate justice, equity and participatory governance throughout its framework. Implementation will be coordinated with the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health under WHO supervision.
Rising Health Risks and a Narrowing Window for Action
Global health leaders used the COP30 ministerial meeting to warn that climate impacts are accelerating faster than health systems can adapt. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom stated unequivocally that “the climate crisis is a health crisis,” emphasizing that health adaptation is already embedded in the Paris Agreement and must now be delivered.
Regional data presented by Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization, reinforced that urgency. He highlighted that heat exposure has increased by 20 percent since the 1990s and that 550,000 people die every year from extreme heat. “We are no longer speaking of potential outcomes,” he said. “Global warming is a reality and is accelerating… the most vulnerable communities undoubtedly bear the heaviest burdens.”
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called the plan a foundation for global health adaptation, urging countries to move swiftly toward “coordinated, organized, and well-funded efforts to put these policies into practice.”
A USD 300 Million Boost for Climate-Resilient Health Systems
To support BHAP implementation, the Climate and Health Funders Coalition announced USD 300 million in initial funding. The coalition includes more than 35 philanthropies — among them Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Gates Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Philanthropy Asia Alliance and Wellcome.
Funding will accelerate solutions for extreme heat, air pollution and climate-sensitive infectious diseases, while supporting the integration of climate and health data to help countries build resilient health systems capable of protecting lives and livelihoods.
The coalition’s goal is to strengthen national capacity, support innovation and ensure that vulnerable populations receive targeted protection as climate shocks intensify.
Anchored in Global Mandates and COP30’s Implementation Agenda
The Belém Health Action Plan is the health sector’s chief contribution to the COP30 global mobilization. It forms part of the COP30 Action Agenda and directly supports Objective 16, which calls for resilient health systems in the face of the climate crisis.
The plan operationalizes Article 7 of the Paris Agreement, which establishes the Global Goal on Adaptation, and complements WHO resolutions WHA61.19, WHA77.14 and WHA77.2. It also extends the UAE–Belém Work Programme launched at COP28, providing a more detailed roadmap for health adaptation.
The document is open for voluntary endorsement by governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, the private sector and philanthropic institutions, ensuring a broad coalition behind its implementation.
Belém’s message is clear: adaptation in the health sector is no longer optional. As climate risks sharpen and scientific warnings accumulate, the Belém Health Action Plan sets a path for countries to respond with the urgency required to protect people’s lives — and to prepare national health systems for a climate-altered future.
Access the Belém Health Action Plan here: https://www.gov.br/saude/pt-br/assuntos/cop30/publicacoes/plano-de-acao-em-saude-de-belem-portugues.pdf/view
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