Lancet Report: Climate Inaction Costs Millions of Lives

The 10th Lancet Countdown report, published by international scientists, revealed that global steps against the climate crisis remain insufficient and health harms are deepening rapidly. Signed by 146 researchers, the report emphasized that extreme heat, famine, and diseases threaten the lives of millions of people.

It was stated that in the decade since the signing of the Paris Agreement, climate change-related health threats have gained momentum much faster than in the previous decade. Prepared in cooperation with the World Health Organization, the report stated that the world cannot keep up with the speed of dangers because greenhouse gas emissions have reached record levels. The burden brought by heatwaves, drought, and disasters negatively affects low-income countries in particular, which contribute the least to emissions.

It was reported that extreme heat caused 710,000 deaths in 2023, surpassing the number of lives lost to HIV or malaria in the same year. It is estimated that heat-related deaths linked to climate change reached approximately 3 million between 2016 and 2023. Additionally, extreme heat caused an income loss of approximately 1.07 trillion dollars in the global economy, with agriculture and construction sectors ranking among the most affected areas.

The report noted that clean air investments in recent years have reduced mortality rates in some countries, but this could not balance the negative impacts on a global scale. It was announced that more than half of the world is affected by extreme drought, and drought cases have increased by more than 700 percent after the Paris Agreement compared to the previous period.

Ahead of the COP31 summit to be held in November, experts called for the climate crisis to be recognized as a global health emergency and for health systems to be strengthened. It was pointed out that funds established for developing countries to combat climate losses remain insufficient and face bureaucratic obstacles.