A GLOBAL MUTIRÃO FOR CLIMATE AND HEALTH AT COP30

On COP30 Health Day, Brazil presents the Belém Health Action Plan and a first commitment to dedicated funding is made

• Health is becoming an increasingly important topic in COP negotiations, thanks to Brazil’s push for a global mutirão for climate and health.
• On Thursday, during COP30 Health Day, Brazil presented the Belém Health Action Plan for climate resilience and sustainability of health systems.
• An initial commitment of $300 million dedicated to climate and health was announced by a coalition of 35 philanthropic organisations.

There is a need for a global mutirão for climate and health. This term was repeated several times on Thursday, during COP30 Health Day, by representatives from the political, negotiating and non-profit worlds involved in the initiative. Mutirão is a term from the indigenous Tupi tradition, which can be translated as “collective mobilisation to pursue a goal”. The spirit of global mutirão launched by Brazil at this COP is a call to strengthen collective climate action, to work together to address pressing climate challenges. This spirit was felt loud and clear in relation to health, both on COP30 Health Day and in the weeks leading up to it. 

The road to COP30

In the months leading up to COP30, the Presidency had already demonstrated a concrete commitment to health issues. In July 2025, a global conference on Climate and Health was held in Brasilia, organised by the World Health Organisation and the Government of Brazil. This conference also provided an opportunity for the second meeting of ATACH (Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health), a collaborative platform of states and other organisations launched in June 2022 (in the wake of the COP26 Health Programme) with the aim of facilitating the creation of sustainable and climate-resilient health systems and promoting the integration of health into national, regional and global climate change adaptation plans. During the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the COP30 Presidency co-hosted a high-level side event and published an updated draft of the Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP).

Health holds an important place in the Action Agenda of this COP30. Among the 30 goals set out in the agenda, many have direct or indirect consequences on people’s health. In addition, the health sector is directly addressed in the area of “Promoting Human and Social Development”, where we find the goal of promoting resilient health systems (goal 16). The inclusion of health among the COP objectives highlights the recognition of the link between human health and climate change and its relevance in societies. The health sector, which is severely affected by the impacts of climate change, can contribute to adaptation and mitigation actions and act as a motivating factor for broader change in society.

Health Day at COP30  

On Health Day, a high-level plenary session was held at COP30 with the aim of officially presenting the Belém Health Action Plan and collecting endorsements from countries and other organisations. Among others, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus (online) participated in this plenary session. In addition to reiterating the importance of the climate-health nexus in every climate decision and action, Stiell spoke of a “triple win”, referring to the improvements in health, the economy and the climate that we can achieve through effective climate action (such as clean air, safe water, sustainable food systems and resilient infrastructure). Ghebreyesus stated that the BHAP proposals are aligned with WHO’s goals of making health systems sustainable and resilient, confirming WHO’s close collaboration and support through the ATACH network to achieve these goals.

Latin American participation in the event was also notable, especially that of Brazil as the country promoting BHAP. Brazilian activist Marcele Oliveira, named youth climate champion for this COP, began with words of encouragement to take care of the planet and each other, and to work together for health and climate justice, following the spirit of mutirão. The Director of the Pan American Health Organisation, Jarbas Barbosa, expressed his commitment to supporting the countries of the American continent in translating the BHAP into concrete actions, inviting health ministries to sign the text and integrate it into their health planning. Finally, Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha outlined the main contents of the BHAP, emphasizing the need for international collaboration and multilateralism to achieve global adaptation goals.

The Belém Health Action Plan

The BHAP is an adaptation-focused action plan that outlines a roadmap of concrete actions to guide countries in achieving climate resilience and sustainability in their health systems. There are two cross-cutting principles that are found throughout the BHAP: promoting equity and climate justice, and transparent and accountable governance that adapts to the circumstances of countries and allows for social participation, especially of the most vulnerable groups. The BHAP proposes adaptation solutions that include integrated monitoring and surveillance of health and environmental issues, technological and digital innovation for health, and the strengthening of multisectoral policies based on scientific evidence. Through these solutions, health systems will become better prepared to respond to the impacts of climate change, protecting especially the most vulnerable communities. There are also two supporting reports to the BHAP, providing resources and recommendations, namely a synthesis of public policies on climate and health issues (Synthesis of Evidence on Public Policies for Climate and Health) and a synthesis on social participation in adaptation strategies (Synthesis Report on Social Participation in Climate and Health Adaptation).

The BHAP recommendations are not only addressed to countries, but also to international organizations and other partners in civil society, academia, the private sector and philanthropy, who can endorse and contribute to the same objectives. To date, the document has been endorsed by 80 entities, including 43 countries, the European Union and other organizations.

During the discussion that followed the launch of the BHAP, several countries expressed their support for the document. Some European countries (Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands) reported that they had already taken significant steps to adapt their health systems. The Netherlands highlighted the importance of implementing mitigation measures, in addition to adaptation measures, with the aim of achieving net-zero emissions in the health sector (which accounts for 5% of global emissions). Some countries in the Global South – including Tuvalu, Kenya, Suriname and Zimbabwe – have committed to adopting the BHAP but have also expressed the need for support and funding from countries in the Global North to make it operational.

In terms of funding, an important announcement was made on Thursday: an initial commitment of $300 million from a coalition of 35 philanthropic organizations (Climate and Health Funders Coalition), including Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Rockefeller Foundation, Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust. This initial funding will be devoted to research into solutions and innovations related to extreme heat, air pollution and infectious diseases linked to climate change, as well as to the acquisition of data and scientific evidence to guide policy choices towards the resilience of health systems.

Thanks to the work that preceded COP30 and the organization of this theme day on health, Brazil has given an important boost to promoting adaptation actions related to human health by attracting the attention of countries, international organizations and funders. By the end of this COP, we will see how many entities support the BHAP, and how the international community will subsequently move to fully implement it, especially in the most vulnerable countries. There will certainly be a need for important multilateral collaborations, such as that of the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health, and other funding in addition to this initial commitment from philanthropic organizations. 

However, it is a good sign that health is gaining ground in climate negotiations, and rightly so. Health is one of the strongest and most compelling arguments we have for climate action. There can be no human health (nor functioning societies or economies) on a diseased planet. Let us continue this global “mutirão” for health. 

Article by Lucia Giannini, Climate and Health Section coordinator at Italian Climate Network