Climate change, health and cities – From global commitments to local impact

Climate change, health and cities – From global commitments to local impact

The role of cities in advancing climate action and health

Context

Cities are central to delivering the objectives of the Global Action Plan. Urban areas concentrate populations, infrastructure, services, and economic activity, and are on the front line of climate impacts such as heatwaves, air pollution, flooding, and extreme weather events. At the same time, cities are uniquely positioned to act as engines of solutions. They co-create and contribute to positive health and climate outcomes, through shaping policies, piloting innovation, generating data and evidence, and scaling locally grounded practices that inform national and global action.

Cities are also best placed to operationalize whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches at the local level. They routinely work across sectors, engage local communities, and implement policies that address social and environmental determinants of health, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience – delivering tangible benefits for both people and the planet.

Given the interconnected nature of climate related risks across human, animal, and environmental systems, integrating a One Health approach further underscores the importance of including cities in global climate–health governance.

Despite this central role, cities remain under-represented in multilateral debates on climate change and health, including within WHA processes that shape global and national policy directions. To bridge the gap between global policy and local implementation, specialized networks and platforms such as the Global Cities Hub, WHO European Healthy Cities Network and the C40 serve as essential intermediaries to support cities in translating the Global Action Plan into measurable and localized action on climate and health.

🎯 Objectives

• Strengthen the engagement of cities within the WHA, through existing city networks, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to debates traditionally led by States.
• Demonstrate cities’ contribution to the implementation of the Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health, and encourage Member States to involve cities in the design, implementation, and monitoring of national climate and health strategies.
• Provide a platform for cities to articulate key policy messages on climate change and health, drawing on concrete local experience and evidence.

🎙️ Agenda

Opening remarks

• WHO representative

Panel discussion

• Sir Andrew Haines – Chief Scientific Advisor of the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health
• H.E. Ms. Deike Potzel – Perm. Obs. of the European Union
• H.E. Mr. Elmer José Germán Gonzalo Schialer Salcedo – Perm. Rep. of Peru (tbc)
• Cllr. Tony Fitzgerald – City of Cork, Ireland
• Dr. Pınar Okyay – İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, Türkiye

Moderated by Anh Thu Duong – co-director, Global Cities Hub

Interactive exchange

Closing remarks

Registration

Please register here for the event.