Health and Well-being Week
Health and Climate Change: The Greatest Challenge of Our Time
Federative Republic of Brazil
This session will highlight the connection between climate and health, emphasizing the need for coordinated actions aligned with the Paris Agreement (Nationally Determined Contributions - NDCs) and the 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs).
Discussion
- Well-being
- Health and Climate Change #2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
| Transmission of simultaneous interpretation | Provided |
|---|---|
| Language of interpretation | Japanese and English |
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Track Programme
- * Programme times and content are subject to change. Any changes will be announced on this website and via the ticket booking system.
- * The schedule is subject to change depending on the organiser's circumstances.
- Time and
Date of
the event -
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2025.06.29[Sun]
10:00 ～ 12:30
(Venue Open 09:30)
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- Venue
- Theme Weeks Studio
Programme details
Climate change impacts livelihoods and health through various direct and indirect pressures, and vulnerable populations facing social and economic inequalities are at the forefront of climate-induced health risks. This scenario calls for unified action to protect the health and well-being of all.
The World Health Organization highlights that the Paris Agreement is the most impactful health agreement of the 21st century and the United Nations has prioritized the view that it makes no sense to deal with development plans and the climate issue without placing them in the broader context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The panel “Health and Climate Change: The Greatest Challenge of Our Time” will explore this connection, highlighting the need for coordinated actions aligned with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
The panel is organized by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz, Brazil), a public institution of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Fiocruz plays a central role in leading research and guiding health management tools. It significantly contributed to the development of the Brazil’s universal, public, equitable, and high-quality Unified Health System (SUS). With over 125 years, Fiocruz carries a legacy of experiences, lessons learned, and leadership in promoting sustainable development and strengthening democracy with equity.
Event format: Round table.
Speakers: researchers, scientists, and representatives from public institutions; UN agencies representatives; and other stakeholders.
Reports
The session provided clear evidence that the health impacts of climate change are no longer predictions for the future — they are measurable, widespread, and worsening.
The presentation by Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown, revealed alarming trends. In 2023, 10 out of 15 global health-climate indicators reached record negative levels. Heat-related deaths among people over 65 increased by 167% compared to the 1990s. Additionally, 512 billion work hours were lost due to heat exposure, with an estimated global economic cost of USD 835 billion.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Romanello also shared positive developments. Employment in the renewable energy sector grew by 35% between 2016 and 2022, reaching 13.7 million jobs. However, fossil fuel subsidies hit a record USD 1.4 trillion in 2022, surpassing many national health budgets.
According to Romanello, scientific solutions and financial resources already exist — but political action remains insufficient.
The session also featured Ryoma Kayano from the World Health Organization (WHO), who stressed the urgent need to integrate health into disaster risk management. Climate-related disasters — such as droughts, heatwaves, and floods — are placing growing pressure on health systems and deepening social inequalities. Kayano advocated for open-access risk data, multi-hazard models, and sustainable financing, including catastrophe bonds, to build resilience at the local level.
Japan’s experience, presented by Kazutaka Oka from the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), illustrated how heat is already overwhelming health systems. In 2024, over 97,000 people in Japan, mostly elderly, were treated for heatstroke, with around 40% of cases occurring indoors. Annual heat-related deaths exceeded 2,000. Even with adaptation measures, projections indicate a significant increase in ambulance demand, threatening emergency response capacity. Japan has introduced heat alerts using the WBGT index and public cooling shelters as preventive measures.
Finally, Guilherme Franco Netto from Fiocruz and EFA 2030 presented Brazil’s response, which includes the national Climate and Health Plan, integrated data platforms, the AdaptaSUS initiative, and the creation of a Climate and Health Centre in Rondônia. Brazil’s efforts aim to strengthen the health system’s resilience and position health as a central component of climate policies, aligned with preparations for COP30.
The session successfully combined scientific evidence, national experiences, and practical solutions. The message was clear: the health impacts of climate change are already here, but effective responses are possible. What is missing is greater political determination to implement known solutions.
Events like Expo 2025 Osaka play a key role in mobilising dialogue, strengthening international cooperation, and ensuring that health remains central to global climate action.
【Post EXPO Initiatives】
Following the conclusion of this Session, Fiocruz will seek to further strengthen cooperative ties among the represented institutions. The intersection of health and climate change is a focus of significant research and strategic initiatives at Fiocruz and holds considerable importance for Brazil.
Accordingly, Fiocruz remains firmly committed to advancing this agenda and to ensuring that the issue continues to gain visibility—not only within academic and institutional circles, but also among the broader public.
Cast
Moderator
Dr. Paulo Gadelha (M.D.)
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Fiocruz Strategy for the 2030 Agenda (EFA 2030/Fiocruz), Brazil.
Dr. Paulo Gadelha (M.D.), former President of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz (from 2009 to 2016) and Brazilian representative under the United Nations 10-Member-Group of High-level Representatives (from 2016 to 2020). Dr. Gadelha coordinates the Fiocruz Strategy for 2030 Agenda (EFA 2030/Fiocruz) since its establishment in 2017, contributing to Brazilian federal planning, and the territorialization of the SDGs at the local level.
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Speakers
Dr. Marina Romanello
Executive Director at Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change, England.
Dr. Marina Romanello is the Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change, an independent and multi-disciplinary research collaboration between almost 100 academic centres around the world, and headquartered at University College London’s Institute for Global Health. She is also a member of the UK's Climate Change Adaptation Committee, and is one of the seven global experts selected to refine the Global Goal on Adaptation indicators for health under the Paris Agreement. Marina trained as a clinical biochemist in the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and holds a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Cambridge. Her research background spans from toxicology through to environmental health and climate change, and before joining the Lancet Countdown she carried out her research in the Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires, the University of Cambridge, and the Francis Crick Institute in London, UK.
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Dr. Kazutaka Oka
Head of Climate Change Impacts Monitoring Research Section, Center for Climate Change Adaptation, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan.
After receiving his Ph.D. in astrophysics, Dr. Kazutaka Oka spent over 14 years at a consulting firm conducting research on climate change impacts and adaptation. In July 2018, he joined the National Institute for Environmental Studies. He is currently involved in research on climate change impacts and adaptation (heat-related health, and energy), as well as dissemination of adaptation information to the business sector. He is a member of the editorial board of the Environmental Health Manual for Heat Stroke (Ministry of the Environment, Japan), chair of the Working Group on Special Heat Stroke Alert (Ministry of the Environment, Japan), and a member of several municipal committees on heat stroke-related issues.
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Dr. Ryoma Kayano
World Health Organization Centre for Health Development (WHO Kobe Centre), Japan.
Dr. Kayano joined WHO in 2015, having previously worked as Assistant Professor at Nagasaki University School of Medicine. He currently works as the focal point of health emergency and disaster risk management (Health EDRM), which includes addressing the health needs during and after climate-related disasters. He leads the secretariat of the WHO Thematic Platform for Health EDRM and its Research Network, and coordinates global initiatives to promote Health EDRM research, including the development of the WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health EDRM as one of the lead editors. He facilitates global research collaboration to improve scientific evidence to inform policy and practice to better protect people from emergencies and disasters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he coordinated research projects on Health EDRM in the context of COVID-19 and facilitated information exchange with local stakeholders.
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Dr. Guilherme Franco Netto
Coordinator of the Fiocruz Health, Environment and Sustainability Program, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Brazil.
Dr. Guilherme Franco Netto was Regional Coordinator of the National Health Foundation – FUNASA (1999-2000), promoting the decentralization of vector control actions and co-developing the Health Surveillance Improvement Project. He served as General Coordinator of Environmental Health Surveillance at FUNASA (2001-2006), where he developed policies and programs related to environmental health and structured climate change-related health surveillance within Brazil’s Unified Health System. As a consultant in Mexico for the Pan American Health Organization (2006-2007), he contributed to sustainable development and environmental health initiatives. He was Director of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Surveillance at the Ministry of Health (2007-2013) and coordinated the Health Sector Plan for Climate Change in 2009, supporting the creation of the Climate and Health Observatory at Fiocruz. He currently serves as Specialist and Program Coordinator at Fiocruz and led the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for Public Health and Environment (2013-2022). He also helped draft the 2020-2030 Strategy on Health, Environment, and Climate Change for the Americas.
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Maher Nasser - OPENING REMARKS
Commissioner-General of the United Nations Pavilion and the UN Assistant Secretary-General
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Co-organiser
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation
Health and Well-being Week
Health and Climate Change: The Greatest Challenge of Our Time
This session will highlight the connection between climate and health, emphasizing the need for coordinated actions aligned with the Paris Agreement (Nationally Determined Contributions - NDCs) and the 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs).
-
2025.06.29[Sun]
10:00～12:30
(Venue Open 09:30)
- Theme Weeks Studio
- * Programme times and content are subject to change. Any changes will be announced on this website and via the ticket booking system.
- * The schedule is subject to change depending on the organiser's circumstances.
OTHER PROGRAM
Health and Well-being Week
