00:02Experts are calling on the World Health Organization and the United Nations as a whole
00:06to formally declare climate change a global health emergency.
00:10A new report published by The Lancet indicates that health risks and impacts from climate change
00:16have been increasing rapidly since the Paris Agreement entered into force in 2016.
00:22These include some heat-related health risks, drought incidents, extreme precipitation,
00:27and climatic suitability for dengue transmission.
00:31The faster pace of these changes suggests that existing measures are insufficient to protect public health.
00:38The authors argue that a formal emergency designation would shift global climate action
00:44from slow voluntary commitments to mandatory coordinated emergency management.
00:49Some proposed measures include an immediate global ban on new fossil fuel exploration and exploitation,
00:56the complete phase-out of coal-fired power generation by 2035,
01:00and a shift towards predominantly plant-based diets.
01:04Despite efforts to tackle climate change, greenhouse gas emissions continue to reach record highs.
01:10Climate change is increasingly affecting health and threatening lives worldwide,
01:14while a window of opportunity to avoid a potentially catastrophic future is rapidly closing.
