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Climate and health strategies must address the biodiversity crisis
In 2021 and again in 2023, more than 200 scientific journals issued a rare joint call for health professionals to treat climate change and biodiversity loss as one indivisible global health emergency. This framing reflects a growing recognition that human wellbeing is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of other animals and the planet.
Encouragingly, the health sector in recent years has taken notice of climate change. In 2023, for example, a health day was held for the first time at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28. During that same meeting, more than 150 countries endorsed a declaration on climate and health and $1 billion in funding was pledged to support efforts at this nexus. The United Nations even labeled climate change “the single biggest health threat facing humanity.”
Biodiversity is equally critical to health. Defined as the variety of life on Earth, biodiversity encompasses variation within species and between species. It underpins the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the stability of ecosystems that regulate climate and ultimately our wellbeing. For health professionals, this means that safeguarding biodiversity is not simply an environmental concern but a foundational element of preventive and clinical care.
Unfortunately, biodiversity has not received nearly as much attention as climate change within the health sector. The COP28 declaration makes no mention of biodiversity, nor does the draft Belém Health Action Plan prepared ahead of this year’s climate conference — which, paradoxically, is taking place in an Amazonian city. The New England Journal of Medicine, the world’s leading medical journal, has a special series on climate change but none for biodiversity; a search for “climate change” on its website yields 3,000 hits; “biodiversity” produces just 17 results. This neglect obscures the reality that biodiversity loss directly influences health outcomes. Without integrating biodiversity into climate and health strategies, efforts to stabilize climate and protect public health will fall short.
Encouragingly, the health sector in recent years has taken notice of climate change. In 2023, for example, a health day was held for the first time at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28. During that same meeting, more than 150 countries endorsed a declaration on climate and health and $1 billion in funding was pledged to support efforts at this nexus. The United Nations even labeled climate change “the single biggest health threat facing humanity.”
Biodiversity is equally critical to health. Defined as the variety of life on Earth, biodiversity encompasses variation within species and between species. It underpins the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the stability of ecosystems that regulate climate and ultimately our wellbeing. For health professionals, this means that safeguarding biodiversity is not simply an environmental concern but a foundational element of preventive and clinical care.
Unfortunately, biodiversity has not received nearly as much attention as climate change within the health sector. The COP28 declaration makes no mention of biodiversity, nor does the draft Belém Health Action Plan prepared ahead of this year’s climate conference — which, paradoxically, is taking place in an Amazonian city. The New England Journal of Medicine, the world’s leading medical journal, has a special series on climate change but none for biodiversity; a search for “climate change” on its website yields 3,000 hits; “biodiversity” produces just 17 results. This neglect obscures the reality that biodiversity loss directly influences health outcomes. Without integrating biodiversity into climate and health strategies, efforts to stabilize climate and protect public health will fall short.
https://www.statnews.com/2025/10/20/biodiversity-loss-health-climate-change-policy/