Our Vision for Climate and Health: Net Positive Centre Reflections on COP30

If you had the COP30 podium, what would you say?”

We asked members of the Net Positive Centre for Climate and Health this question as COP30’s Health Day approached. Their responses — bold, thoughtful, and purposeful — capture what it truly means to put health at the heart of climate action.

CLICK ON EACH IMAGE TO READ THEIR THOUGHTS

These voices reflect our core belief: climate and health are inseparable. The health of people and the planet must advance together. Now, with COP30’s Health Programme concluded, we’re seeing this principle translate into unprecedented global action.

Why COP30’s Outcomes Matter

For the first time, an international climate summit delivered on health: a comprehensive framework that positions health not as an afterthought, but as central to climate action.

Historic Outcomes:

Brazil launched the Belém Health Action Plan — the first international climate adaptation document dedicated specifically to health, with 27 targets and 33 concrete actions COP30 Brasil Amazônia.

A WHO report confirmed what frontline communities already know: climate change kills more than half a million people annually through extreme heat and threatens one in 12 hospitals worldwide UN News. The crisis is now, not in some distant future.

$300 million was pledged through the Climate and Health Funders Coalition COP30 Brasil Amazônia — turning commitments into resources for action on extreme heat, air pollution, and climate-sensitive diseases.

Our Principles Reflected in COP30 Outcomes

The results from COP30 validate the principles our Centre champions:

Health moving to the centre, not peripheral

Health featured as one of 30 key objectives in the COP30 Action Agenda WHO. When health drives climate policy, solutions deliver tangible benefits for real people, not just emission statistics.

Action matters more than ambition

As our Centre members emphasized in their responses: implementation is everything. The Belém Health Action Plan delivers measurable targets, financing mechanisms, and data-driven strategies. As Brazil’s Vice-President declared at COP30: “The world must stop debating goals and start fulfilling them.”

Equity and participation are non-negotiable

The Health Action Plan embeds health equity, climate justice, and social participation at its core COP30 Brasil Amazônia — recognizing that the most vulnerable communities face the greatest risks despite contributing least to the crisis. This aligns with our unwavering commitment to centring frontline voices.

Collaboration multiplies impact

WHO’s fifth consecutive COP30 Health Pavilion created space for dialogue across sectors WHO, demonstrating that the systemic, scalable solutions we advocate for require working brilliantly with partners across disciplines and borders.

Our Challenge: From Framework to Reality

At the Centre for Net Positive Heath and Climate Solutions, we see COP30’s outcomes as a beginning, not an endpoint. The framework exists. Initial funding is secured. Now it is important that health is made central to future climate negotiations.

Our Commitment

Our vision remains clear: every intervention should strive to be net positive for people and the planet. COP30 has validated this approach on the global stage.

The question our Centre members answered — “what would you say at COP30?” — reflects not just aspirations, but principles embedded in historic global commitments. Our work continues: ensuring these commitments become resilient systems, protected communities, and genuine transformation.