Health Professional Associations Unite to Drive Global Climate Health Action
Categories: Climate Change & Health Vulnerability & Adaptation Assessments, Net zero health systems, Action Plans for sustainable low carbon health systems, Global, Climate Resilient Health Systems, Low Carbon Sustainable Health Systems
Publisher: Doctors for the Environment Australia
Doctors for the Environment HPA Consultation #1, September 2025 (Aditya Vyas) In September 2025, Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) convened two consultation sessions with national and international health professional associations (HPAs) to inform the Health Professional Associations constituency of the WHO Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health.
Over 40 representatives participated across the two sessions, including delegates from countries across the world, allied health networks, and leaders across medicine, nursing, allied health professions and public health. This work will be centered on expertise from Aboriginal, Pacific and low and middle income country settings, and care was taken to emphasise this during the consultations. Participants discussed how HPAs can move beyond advocacy to implementation, supporting workforce wellbeing, equity, and resilience as the health system responds to the climate crisis.
Key themes included:
- The need for climate-resilient health systems that also address mental health, workforce maldistribution, and First Nations leadership.
- Recognition of the Pacific’s climate and health priorities and the importance of integrating community voices and local expertise.
- Opportunities for HPAs to influence climate finance mechanisms such as the Loss and Damage Fund and to shape metrics for low-carbon, resilient healthcare.
- Proposals for joint outputs such as a position paper, a three-year program of work, and contributing HPA case studies of best practice for the ATACH website.
Participants agreed on several next steps: developing a DEA led report on consultation findings; co-creating a Position Statement aligned with the ATACH 2024–2028 Strategy; and planning ongoing events at COP30 and COP31.
This consultation marks a major step in uniting health professional associations worldwide under a shared vision for climate-resilient, equitable health systems, and ensuring that the perspectives of those on the frontlines are at the global table. By fostering collaboration across medicine, allied health, nursing, and community health networks, the HPA constituency aims to ensure that health workers’ voices help guide the global transformation toward sustainable and just healthcare, whilst addressing exisiting health inequities.