Ministers of Health and Environment from WHO’s European Region, meeting this week in Budapest, are poised to adopt a Declaration pledging to tackle climate, pollution and biodiversity risks that account for about 15% of disease burden in the 53-nation region.

Health and environment ministers from WHO’s 53-member strong WHO European Region are meeting in Budapest this week to agree on an agenda that aims to redouble action on health challenges related to climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. 

A ‘Budapest Declaration’, set to be adopted on Friday, contains a set of new commitments by countries to tackle the environmental causes of ill health, which lead to  some 1.4 million deaths annually, according to a new WHO report released Wednesday on the opening day of the three-day conference. 

“Everyone has the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Yet the triple environmental crisis – climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss – threatens our very existence and that of our planet, our home,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, at a press conference announcing the commitments at the Budapest event. 

“The Budapest Declaration offers concrete actions to improve the environments people live in, decrease the disease burden, reduce health inequalities, relieve pressured health systems and enhance our collective resilience to future pandemics,” he added.

Air pollution tops list of pollution-related deaths

The new WHO report, “A healthy environment in the WHO European Region” provides a breakdown of the estimated 1.4 million environment-related deaths in the WHO European Region – which extends from the United Kingdom to the borders of China.  Air pollution tops the list with an estimated 570,000 deaths. Other key quantifiable risks include: 

• 269,500 deaths from toxic chemicals exposure
• 150 000+ deaths due to household air pollution from smokey coal, kerosene and biomass cookstoves;
• 33,500 deaths from unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene amongst the more than 77 million people lacking access to safely managed drinking water;
• 24,600 deaths from lung cancer caused by emissions of radon, a naturally-occuring radioactive gas leaking into homes.

Global warming, biodiversity and greenspace loss are growing factors 

The report also points to climate change and biodiversity as growing factors in disease risks – whose health impacts have not yet been fully assessed. 

However, in 2022 alone, at least 20 000 people died from extreme heat in what was the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe, the new WHO report states. 

And over the past 50 years, some 148 000 lives were lost from extreme temperatures – comprising most of the 159 000 deaths attributable to climate-related storms, floods and extreme weather.

In urban areas, almost two-thirds of populations lack adequate access to green space close to their homes.  By providing shade for cooling and filtering the air, green spaces have a protective health effect that can reduce natural-cause mortality by nearly 1%, the report notes.

Roadmap of actions

As part of the Budapest Declaration, countries will be pledging to take a series of actions to reduce harmful pollution emissions and mitigate climate impacts.

The actions range from safer waste management and switching to zero-emission transport systems to greener and healthier built environments. Actions in the health sector, including decarbonizing health systems and improving the climate literacy of health workers. 

There is a special emphasis on including youth voices and empowering youth organizations.

“The [Budapest] declaration is accompanied by a roadmap of actions. Member states can choose which things to focus on but we actually are urgently asking every country: Please take all actions aboard as much as you can,” said Brigit Staatsen, Chair of the European Environment and Health Task Force, at the briefing.

“The current and future generations are and will be affected by the triple crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution) and the effects of climate change on physical and mental health,” said Sara Cozzone, youth representative, Associazione A Sud – Ecologia e Cooperazione (Association South – Ecology and Cooperation). 

She added that tackling climate and eco-anxiety, which is increasingly being felt by young people, has to be a matter of urgency on the agenda of European institutions.

Environment and Health Process Partnerships for knowledge sharing

My remarks at @WHO_Europe Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. #7MCEH https://t.co/QKinufzkip

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) July 5, 2023

A new mechanism – Environment and Health Process Partnerships – will also be launched to facilitate collaborations and share knowledge on specific environmental and health challenges.  

Apart from challenges due to the changing climate, European countries are also facing a rapidly aging population, rising chronic diseases, and health workforce shortages as well as energy, cost of living, and geopolitical crises. Together the issues are exerting tremendous pressure on the healthcare systems. 

This week’s meeting in Budapest is the seventh such environment and health ministerial conference, whose aim is to devise and promote innovative policies to support long-term health and well-being of people in the WHO European Region.

The Conference was convened by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 

Image Credits: Mariordo, CC, CC.