We are pleased to announce that today we have launched a joint policy brief with the Global Climate and Health Alliance on climate change and NCDs. NCDs and climate change are two of the greatest threats to sustainable development this century, but the actions required to address them present an unmissable opportunity for joint action.

The policy brief focuses on four key areas for intervention - air pollution, energy, transport and food systems. Air pollution causes 7 million deaths annually, and is a leading cause of both NCDs and climate change, thus all interventions to reduce air pollution have a positive impact on both human and planetary health. In the energy sector, transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is if vital importance to improving health, with mortality rates due to coal-generated electricity 1,000 times higher than for wind-generated electricity.

Promoting active transport such as walking and cycling in place of motorised transport has the dual benefit of reducing both air pollution and physical activity. Livestock production alone accounts for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, with added emissions from food which are highly process and transported over long distances, and thus locally sourced plant based diets both prevent NCDs and promote human and planetary health.

The policy brief will be launched physically at a side event co-hosted with HealthBridge, WHO, Smarter Than Car and the Low Carbon City Forum at the Habitat III thematic meeting on public space in Barcelona next Tuesday 5 April.

We will also be using the brief in our advocacy in the lead up to Habitat III, since the interventions outlined in the brief are also central to sustainable urbanisation. 

The brief is available in English and Spanish in the boxes below.