COP30: Major philanthropies pledge $300 million for climate and health

A coalition of major philanthropies pledged to disperse $300 million towards tackling the impact of the climate crisis on health. 

The group of funders at COP30 in Brazil said that it ‘recognises the need to act with urgency’.

 ‘The past ten years have been the warmest on record and temperatures are expected to remain at or near record levels in the next five years. Climate and health experts have repeatedly warned that warming of more than 1.5°C risks unleashing more severe climate impacts and extreme weather with major consequences for human health,’ they said. 

The $300 million will provide support for the Belém Health Action Plan, designed to build a health system with climate justice in mind. 

The plan encourages countries to monitor and coordinate climate-related health policy between governmental departments.

Funders include Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Gates Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Philanthropy Asia Alliance (by Temasek Trust), and the Wellcome Trust.  

The $300 million is on top of the large sums of public money, between $1 billion and $2 billion, being spent on researching climate-related health impacts.

Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine.