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This editorial is being published simultaneously in multiple journals. It highlights now as the time to treat the climate and nature crisis as one indivisible global health emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 200 health journals have issued a joint statement calling on the United Nations, political leaders, and health professionals to recognize that climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected crises that must be addressed together. The statement emphasizes that the current approach of treating these issues separately is a dangerous mistake. The impacts of these crises on human health are significant and include disruptions to social and economic systems, shortages of land, shelter, food, and water, and the spread of infectious diseases. The health community must advocate for the restoration of biodiversity and the mitigation of climate change, and political leaders must recognize the threats to health and the potential benefits of addressing these crises. The statement concludes by urging the World Health Organization to declare the climate and nature crisis as a global health emergency. [Extracted from the article]

The 2022 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) paints a dark picture of the future of life on earth, characterized by ecosystem collapse, species extinction, and climate hazards such as heatwaves and floods (1). These are all linked to physical and mental health problems, with direct and indirect consequences of increased morbidity and mortality. To avoid these catastrophic health effects across all regions of the globe, there is broad agreement—as 231 health journals argued together in 2021—that the rise in global temperature must be limited to less than 1.5oC compared with pre-industrial levels. While the Paris Agreement of 2015 outlines a global action framework that incorporates providing climate finance to developing countries, this support has yet to materialize (2). COP27 is the fifth Conference of the Parties (COP) to be organized in Africa since its inception in 1995. Ahead of this meeting, we—as health journal editors from across the continent—call for urgent action to ensure it is the COP that finally delivers climate justice for Africa and vulnerable countries. This is essential not just for the health of those countries, but for the health of the whole world.