Health brief: Nothing healthy at COP27

By Euractiv's Health Hub and Giedre Peseckyte | Euractiv.com

Est. 16min

23-11-2022 (updated: 28-11-2022 )

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High hopes from the health community that an agreement to move away from fossil fuels will be reached at COP27 were not fulfilled. Overall, climate change’s impacts on health remained in the margins throughout the conference.

The link between health and climate change is sometimes missed and that’s why even before the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt started on 6 November, health organisations were already putting stress on the importance of having health aspects in the climate change debate.

To emphasise climate change’s impact on health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) organised for the second year in a row the health pavilion in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust and partners.

“The COP27 Health Pavilion convened the global health community and its partners to ensure health and equity are placed at the centre of the climate negotiations,” WHO said.

A European Parliament delegation attended COP27 but the two-week programme of events in the pavilion was not enough to convince EU lawmakers that health got enough attention.

Asked by EURACTIV if the health and climate change link was emphasised during the COP27 Peter Lise, vice-chair of the MEPs delegation to the conference, said that “health, unfortunately, was not a big issue” and that it is a mistake since climate and health are strongly interconnected.

“Climate change is unhealthy. People die from heat waves. People die because infectious agents come to Europe that have never been here before because it’s getting warmer.”

According to him, the solution to the climate crisis would also include some better choices for health such as having diets that include less meat.

“Sausages or meat two times a day is not good for your health and it is also not good for the planet,” Liese said.

Health community called for phasing out of fossil fuels

Ahead of COP27, WHO did not put emphasis on dietary preferences. The focus was on fossil fuels, arguing that moving away from them would benefit human health ‘enormously’,

Ahead of the conference Maria Neira, director of climate change and health at WHO, told a press briefing on 3 November: “There is a lot to gain if we are very serious and ambitious and quick on the implementation of the Paris Treaty and the COP27 is successful, but a lot to lose if we are not.”

Fossil fuels are one of the main drivers of climate change they contribute to air pollution, and are responsible for 7 million premature deaths globally every year.

Altogether, almost 25% of excess mortality in Europe can now be traced back to the health impacts of fossil fuel burning, including premature deaths caused by extreme heat and air pollution from combustion engines, Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told reporters in Berlin on 3 November.

Often one of the main arguments against the phase-out of fossil fuels is the cost of investment. But Neira argued that “the cost of the investment you need at the beginning will be nothing compared with the benefits that we will obtain in terms of health in the cost for the health system.”

WHO estimates that it would take six years to achieve a full return on investment in the transition to clean energy.

But this did not convince global leaders, campaigners and experts that gathered in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The two-week talks failed to push forward the ambition of cutting emissions.

The outcomes of COP27 – not satisfying

A final COP27 statement covering the broad array of the world’s efforts to grapple with a warming planet held the line on the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. It also included language on renewable energy for the first time.

But that failed to go much further than a similar decision from last year’s COP26 in Glasgow on key issues.

“It is mind-boggling that countries did not muster the courage to call for phasing down fossil fuels, which are the biggest driver of climate change,” Ani Dasgupta, head of the World Resources Institute, said.

On a brighter note, developing countries got the loss and damage fund they fought for – on the proviso that the burden of paying into it does not fall entirely on rich governments. Who pays and who benefits is a battle for COP28.

The adoption of the loss and damage fund was welcomed by health professionals and NGOs while the stalled progress on fossil fuel phase-out was stalled, the Global Climate and Health Alliance said in their press release.

The alliance brings together over 130 health organisations from around the world to tackle climate change and protect and promote public health

“Despite support from over 80 countries, governments’ collective failure to deliver a clear commitment to phase out all fossil fuels puts us on course to go beyond the already dangerous 1.5 Celsius global temperature rise, and locks in a further increase in Loss and Damage due to climate impacts on people’s health and livelihoods”, said Jeni Miller, executive director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance.

Jess Beagley, policy lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, added that governments failed in mitigation.

“Without a clear commitment to phase out all fossil fuels – not just ‘unabated coal’ – the world will remain on course for further warming, growth in climate impacts, and increased health consequences for the people everywhere. The imperative to peak emissions by 2025 is entirely absent from COP27’s final text,” said Beagley.

By Giedrė Peseckytė

Subscribe to EURACTIV’s Health Brief, where you’ll find the latest roundup of news covering health from across Europe. The Health Brief is brought to you by EURACTIV’s Health Team Giedrė Peseckytė, Clara Bauer-Babef, Amalie Holmgaard Mersh, and Gerardo Fortuna.

EU4Health budget 2023. The European Commission adopted the 2023 EU4Health work programme on Monday (21 November), following a positive opinion from the EU4Health Programme Committee five days earlier. The total budget is €‎735,8 million dedicated to ensuring “swift progress on priority actions linked to further development of the European Health Union,” the Commission’s newsletter said. Out of €‎735,8 million the majority, €493 million is dedicated to major actions supporting DG SANTE’s key priorities, as illustrated in the infographic. The work programme will also support health-related urgencies due to Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine. In July of this year, the European Commission signed an association agreement with Ukrainian authorities, opening access funding under EU4Health Programme.

Laughing gas. Recreational use of nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas – is on the rise in EU countries despite risks of harm associated with the drug, a new report from the EU drugs agency shows. Recreational has long been viewed as relatively harmless, but regular and heavy use is linked to a long list of health harms, some of which are very serious.

EU-US mutual recognition. Pharmaceuticals and medical devices will be on the agenda of the third meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) between the US administration and the European Commission that will be held in Washington on 5 December. The EU and the US are expected to extend the mutual recognition for manufacturing standards to plasma and vaccines while continuing the monitoring of protectionist developments in China related to medical devices.

Wastewater and access to medicines. The EU Commission rejected a warning from pharmaceutical companies that extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the proposed revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive could jeopardise access to medicines.

Defacto abortion ban. While technically allowed in some cases, abortion in Poland may as well be forbidden, putting women’s lives at risk, said Robert Biedron, EU lawmaker and leader of the Polish opposition party Nowa Lewica on Thursday (17 November).

Superbugs on the rise. In 2020, more than 800,000 infections due to resistant bacteria occurred in the EU/EEA, which directly resulted in the deaths of 35,000 people, stated a report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published Thursday (17 November). It also said that public health actions aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are insufficient and that “AMR will be an increasing concern unless governments respond more robustly to the threat.”

Confidence in vaccines. On Monday (21 November), the EU Commission released the 2022 State of Vaccine Confidence in the EU report showing that across all member states, 81.5% of respondents agree that vaccines are important, 85.6% agree they are effective and 82.3% agree that they are safe. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic trust in vaccines has been questioned. With this report, the Commission said that levels of trust had returned to 2018 levels, despite persisting differences between countries.

The report is part of the follow-up to the 2018 Council recommendation on strengthened cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Flavoured heated tobacco products. On Wednesday (23 November), the Commission announced that the ban on flavoured heated tobacco products enters into force. This ban ties in with the Commission’s goal in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to create a ‘’tobacco-free generation’’ where less than 5 % of the population uses tobacco by 2040.

“Thanks to the ban, our citizens, and in particular young people, will be better protected from the harmful effects of these products,” said EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides in a statement.

The entry into force means that EU countries now have eight months to transpose it into national legislation. Not until 23 October 2023 will the rules become fully applicable.

European Health Data Space. Stakeholders expressed concern that the European Health Data Space (EDHS), aimed at reforming the primary and secondary use of health data across the EU, will not launch as planned in 2025 due to a large number of issues still to be addressed.

Rare diseases. The Czech Presidency of the EU Council said it will cooperate with forthcoming Council presidencies to create an EU action plan for rare diseases.

Consumers’ view of medicines prices. The European Consumer Organisation released the results from focus groups in Italy, the Netherlands and Spain about consumers’ views on today’s medicine prices.

Some of the main points stressed that consumers consider medicines essential goods, that they do not approve of excessive pharma profits, and believe there should be more transparency on the R&D costs of drugs.

WTO TRIPS waiver extension

Negotiations on extending the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial decision of 17 June to waive certain parts of the agreement on Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) from only COVID-19 vaccines to including diagnostics and therapeutics continue to go nowhere.

The six-month deadline of 17 December, set in the June decision, is now less than a month away, and according to a Geneva-based trade official, members continued to reiterate their positions in the most recent meeting Tuesday (21 November).

The Chair of the TRIPS Council, ambassador Lansana Gberie, reportedly told members once again that he was concerned that there were still no concrete text proposals on how to move forward.

While some members wish to see an extension to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics, others, including the EU, continue to insist on seeing evidence that there are indeed IP barriers in the way of global access to diagnostics and therapeutics before considering an extension.

On Monday (21 November), the People’s Vaccine Alliance and Oxfam announced the results of an analysis showing that just one-quarter of orders for the WHO-recommended COVID-19 medicine, Pfizer’s Paxlovid, will be sent to low- and middle-income countries, who make up 84 per cent of the world’s population.

They argue that “Pfizer’s monopoly ” means that some countries could be paying ten times more for Paxlovid than they could be for a generic equivalent.

There are two more informal meetings scheduled in the TRIPS Council before the deadline on 6 and 15 December.

Bacterial infections. A Lancet study published Monday (21 November), showed that bacterial infections are the second leading cause of death globally, having been linked to one in eight deaths in 2019.

The analysis involved 33 bacterial pathogens and 11 types of infection and suggests they were associated with 7.7 million deaths in 2019. The mortality rate was highest in Sub-Saharan Africa and lowest in high-income regions such as Western Europe and North America.

Oral health. Friday (18 November) the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a new Global Oral Health Status Report. It reveals that close to half of the world’s population (45% or 3.5 billion people) suffer from oral diseases. Three out of every four affected people live in low- and middle-income countries.

Over the past 30 years, global cases of oral diseases have increased by 1 billion. According to the WHO, this is an indication that there is a widespread lack of access to the prevention and treatment of oral diseases.

Consumers take on drugs and R&D. Consumers think there should be greater transparency on drug R&D costs, and higher returns on public investment, and they do not approve of huge pharma profits when it comes to medicines, according to new research BEUC has carried out in Italy the Netherlands and Spain.

Pharmaceutical legislation from doctors’ point of view. On Tuesday (22 November) The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) published a position on the revision of the European Union’s general pharmaceutical legislation, urging the EU to restore balance to the pharmaceutical sector in the interest of patients. CPME urged the Commission to focus on improving the availability and ensuring affordability of medicines, ensuring more resilient supply chains, reviewing the current system of incentives to address unmet medical needs and ensuring the safety and quality of medicines.

Phasing out of domestic gas for cooking. In a joint letter sent on Tuesday (22 November), the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and 14 other signatories call upon European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans and EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson to phase out domestic gas cooking appliances, as they endanger Europeans’ health. Gas stoves release toxic pollutants that are linked to a number of health problems, such as asthma in children, and coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing in respiratory disease patients, EPHA said in their press release.

How pharma is doing among neurology patients. On Monday (21 November), PatientViewis published the results of its latest ‘Corporate Reputation of Pharma’ survey that collected the opinions of 258 neurology patient groups on the performance of the pharmaceutical industry during 2021. Respondent neurology patient groups ranked the pharma industry’s corporate reputation as higher than that of all other healthcare sectors, bar retail pharmacists;53% of them rated the pharma industry’s corporate reputation as “Excellent” or “Good” (up from 2020’s 46%). The increased rating reflects not only respondent neurology patient groups’ general approval of the industry’s ability to mount a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also its record on R&D. Nonetheless, from the feedback received, 2021’s respondent neurology patient groups remain disheartened by the industry’s inability to provide patient access to new treatments—in part, due to regulatory barriers (and, also, pharma’s pricing policies). In addition, the experiences of COVID-19 caused some of 2021’s respondent neurology patient groups to question the quality of their relationships with pharma.