Subscribe
The worsening air pollution in Delhi this winter has prompted a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official to renew the call on India to sign the climate health pledge launched at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last year.
The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health is a global commitment to tackle the health impacts of climate change, focusing on actions such as strengthening climate-resilient health systems and addressing the intersection of climate and health.
Despite being one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, India has yet to join the global initiative a year after the pledge was formalised, Maria Neira, director of the public health, environment and social determinants of health department, confirmed this to the correspondent. She also spoke at the sidelines of the just concluded COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“India has not signed on the pledge. We are actively discussing the interlinkages between climate change and air pollution and how much the two things are affecting public health,” Neira said.
The disconnect between India’s global leadership and its reluctance to sign the pledge continues to raise questions, especially as its citizens grapple with the dire health impacts of climate change and pollution.
A recent study in the journal The Lancet highlighted that health threats linked to climate change have reached record-breaking levels globally, with India among the worst affected.
Neira cited Delhi’s alarming levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as a critical reason for India to join the initiative. “I think maybe a big push is now required, because the figures in the newspapers show the PM 2.5 levels in New Delhi, for instance, are extremely high. So, we are definitely still pushing and I'm sure that India will move,” the expert said, adding that WHO wants India “to champion the cause as it has the technology as well as an incredible health community with experts and scientists.”
When questioned about India’s reluctance to join the seemingly innocuous pledge, Neira declined to speculate, stating it was likely procedural. “We hope India will soon join these efforts,” she said.
A senior Indian official reiterated last year’s position to justify the decision to not join the agreement. “We are already collaborating with several countries and WHO on a variety of health issues. This is just a pledge by a few countries, and there is no point in reading too much into India not signing the pledge,” the official said.
Despite India’s absence, the WHO-led climate-health pledge continues to gain traction. While 123 countries, including the United States, China, and several European nations, signed the declaration in Dubai last year, the number of signatories has reportedly risen by 30–40 per cent over the past year, according to WHO.
Indian experts have expressed surprise and concern over the continued refusal to sign the pledge.
“A careful reading of the situation suggests that the decision may have its roots in tensions around disagreements related to COVID-related death counts, a denial of data perceived to be unfair (read, unfavourable) and a politics of assertion that has ruffled feathers of federalism, both on the domestic and international fronts,” explained a senior health expert in the country.
India has previously disputed WHO’s estimates of COVID-19 and air pollution-related deaths, terming them overestimated.
Shweta Narayan, a health expert from India, expressed surprise at India's continued rejection of the climate-linked health pledge. “India showed strong leadership in climate action during its G20 presidency, with the New Delhi Declaration emphasising the critical link between climate and health. These raised hopes that the momentum will lead to the WHO-led climate and health declaration, which is a critical step towards protecting the well-being of its 1.4 billion citizens. Yet, India’s hesitation remains perplexing,” she said.
The G20 statement under India’s presidency in 2023 emphasised the need to address climate-health linkages, stating: “We remain committed to strengthening the global health architecture, with the World Health Organization (WHO) at its core.”