COP28 Launch of ADB-led Climate and Health Initiative and Roundtable Discussion in the Context of G20 Supported by the Incoming Brazilian Presidency

Description

This high-level roundtable will reflect on the principles of the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration on climate and health and present the new Climate and Health Initiative launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It will also explore opportunities for action and political visibility on climate and health over the next two years.

The climate crisis continues escalating even as the world grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local communities worldwide are experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, with loss of livelihoods, increased water and food insecurity, and the destruction of homes, education and healthcare facilities and other critical infrastructure. In some countries, humanitarian crises and displacement directly result from climate-induced disasters. Climate change has made the world more vulnerable to disease outbreaks and a wide range of pathogens. It has increased the risk of many of the known infectious diseases, including tick and mosquito borne diseases like Lyme disease, malaria and dengue, and food and water-borne infections. Outbreaks of emerging and re- emerging diseases are accelerating. Development efforts to tackle poverty and unemployment and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 are hindered by the growing climate crisis. This crisis compounds the negative impact of the global economic downturn after the COVID-19 pandemic, further aggravating existing inequalities, particularly for women and youth.

The health sector, responsible for over 5% of global carbon emissions, is both a contributor and a responder to climate change. In confronting these challenges, the G20 led by India’s presidency in 2023, recognizes the urgent need to mainstream the climate-health agenda and take decisive action across multiple sectors to protect human health, natural ecosystems, and animal welfare. Concrete strategies for low-carbon emitting, climate- resilient, and sustainable healthcare systems need to be developed.

G20 nations and the ADB have been working together on several initiatives to enhance health system resilience to extreme climate events that are genuinely sustainable and have lower carbon outputs. Aligned to the WHO-led Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH), this work was reinforced by the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration pledging commitment by the Group and is supported by Multilateral Development Banks. The ADB-G20 roundtable will highlight current progress and future challenges, focusing on key approaches and actions to address the climate-health nexus as they relate to the aforementioned G20 commitments and healthcare climate action principles. Climate and health financing will also be a key topic of the Development Bank Working Group on Climate- Health, co-convened by the ADB, World Bank and Climate Investment Funds (CIF). This working group is developing an investment framework to drive climate and health commitments at scale.

The event will also feature a launch of the ADB led Global Climate and Health Initiative (CHI) with the support of Brazilian Presidency. The CHI aims to consolidate policies and practices at the nexus of climate change and health through collaboration with governments, international organizations, academia, and the private sector. The CHI will make significant contributions to climate and health ‘global and regional’ goods and will be discussed at the roundtable discussion.

Objectives

• Strengthen Climate-Health Integration: Emphasize the collaborative initiatives led by India's G20 presidency, with ADB's backing, to position the intersection of climate and health at the forefront of the G20 agenda.
• Assess and Advance Progress: Evaluate strides taken by G20 and ADB Developing Member Countries in identifying their key priorities, defining actionable interventions, and estimating funding requirements to deliver the most significant positive outcomes for climate-vulnerable nations, communities, and individuals.
• Amplify Impactful Investments and Interventions: Offer a dynamic platform for present and upcoming G20 presidencies to accelerate their pledges on the climate-health nexus.

Target participants

The attendees will be high-level ministers, eminent dignitaries, and senior officials. This event will be by invitation only.

Agenda

Moderator: Dinesh Arora, ADB, and Patrick Osewe, ADB

Rapporteur: Brian Riley, ADB

Time	Session	Speakers
11:30 – 11:31 a.m.	Welcome Statement/Call to convene	Patrick Osewe Director Health, Human & Social Development, ADB
11:31 – 11:35 a.m.	Setting the Stage Climate & Health and the G20 Member State	Amitabh Kant G20 Sherpa, India (Virtual)
11:35 – 11:40 a.m.	Climate and Health Initiative Announcement	Masatsugu Asakawa President, ADB
11:40 – 11:42 a.m.	Launch of the ADB Climate and Health Initiative
11:42 – 11:46 a.m.	Climate and Health Overview Introduction to the climate and health agenda and the high-level principles on climate and health evolved by G20 Leaders	Patrick Osewe Director Health, Human & Social Development, ADB
11:46 a.m. – 12:26 p.m.	G20 Climate and Health Roundtable Panel Discussion With ministerial representatives from both advanced and emerging economies, International Financial Institutions, and Multi-lateral Development Banks, this roundtable focus will identify solutions for challenges at the intersection of climate and health. The session goal is to arrive at a clear understanding of the challenges and to identify innovative solutions that bridge climate action with health outcomes.	Alexandre Ghisleni Head of the Ministry of Health’s Special Office for International Affairs, Brazil Masakazu Hamachi State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan Agnès Firmin Le Bodo State Minister for Health, France Ernst Kuipers Minister of Health, Welfare and Support, Netherlands Zahid Maleque Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the government of Bangladesh Maha Barakat Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Health, United Arab Emirates Carla Vizzotti Minister of Health, Argentina (TBC) Aaron Bernstein Director Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, United States of America Ayako Inagaki Senior Director, Human and Social Development Sector Office, Sectors Group, ADB Monique Vledder Head of the Global Health, Nutrition & Population Global Practice, World Bank
12:26 – 12:30 p.m.	Recap and charting a course forward	Ramesh Subramaniam Director General & Director General & Group Chief Sectors Group, ADB