Concept Note | COP28 Ministerial on Climate and Health
December 3, 4 – 6pm
Version. 1 October 2023
Overview
The COP28 Presidency, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention and World
Health Organization, will host the COP process’ first climate-health ministerial meeting on December
3rd, as part of the commitment to raise ambition on the human health dimensions of climate action.
The ministerial will anchor the wider Health Day, also the first in the COP process, and will issue a
declaration – “COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health” – outlining priorities for policy and investment.
Objectives
• Bring together ministers – including of non-health portfolios – to align and commit on integrated
climate-health action, as well as showcase country plans, best practices, and implementation
progress.
• Capture the urgency, rationale, and direction of action in the COP28 Declaration on Climate
and Health, reflecting country priorities, both adaptation and mitigation opportunities, and
solutions to overcome barriers to mainstream health in the climate agenda, and vice versa.
• Build on the role of existing initiatives and platforms, such as the Alliance for Transformative
Action on Climate and Heath.
• Facilitate greater and consistent health content in future COPs.
Participant profiles
Ministers of Health will convene alongside Ministers of Environment, Climate, Finance, and other
portfolios. Finance institutions, youth, academic partners, frontline community voices, and civil society
organizations, among others, will also be closely engaged.
Preliminary format
Time Agenda
10 min Welcoming remarks by co-hosts, setting out the objective of the meeting. Highlighting
the COP28 declaration on climate and health.
20 min Scene setting: 4 x 5min interventions on key climate-health challenges and solutions,
providing context to frame the meeting, with a focus on science and the realities of
affected communities.
60min Plenary – taking stock of the health response to climate change: High-level
segment with formal interventions from Heads of State and Government, ministers, and
high-level delegates. This segment will provide space for endorsements,
announcements and the sharing of progress.
15 min Report back from Health Day: interactive dialogue between moderator and
rapporteurs/ministers from selected high-level events from COP28 Health Day.
Rapporteurs provide a short summary of critical next steps and asks in their respective
action areas.
5 min Closing remarks
5 min Group photo.
6 – 8pm Evening reception, closing event of Health Day.
Country announcements on climate and health at COP28
Ministers and other participants are warmly invited to attend Health Day and showcase their
commitment to, and progress on, climate and health. Country commitments on climate and health are
not a prerequisite to attend the ministerial but are highly encouraged. A co-hosts’ summary of the event
will include an overview of country commitments, best practices, and country progress made on climate
and health.
Other ministerial engagement on Health Day
The climate-health ministerial is preliminarily scheduled for 4 – 6pm on 3rd December, followed by an
evening reception. Throughout the day ahead of the ministerial, various high-level Health Day events
will provide opportunities for ministers to speak and interact with peers and the COP28 audience. This
might include (non-exhaustive list):
• High-level Health Day opening event;
• Ministerial events and/or roundtables (including on the ATACH initiative, finance, health
adaptation, mitigation and air pollution);
• High-level event on climate-health in the context of the G20;
• High-level event on private sector engagement on climate and health;
• Development banks roundtable on climate-health finance.
Accreditation and other logistical support for COP28
Ministers and supporting staff attending COP28 are expected to liaise with their respective national
delegations to the UNFCCC to ensure accreditation to the COP28 Blue Zone, and to arrange
appropriate logistics. The exact ministerial meeting location will be specified closer to the date.
The COP28 team is available for inquiries at
[email protected].
Special Envoy for Climate Change
P.O. Box 2166, Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
15 October 2023
Ref. : S.E.C.C./2023/1159
Subject: Personal invitation to COP28 Health Day and Climate-Health Ministerial
H.E. Riina Sikkut
Minister of Health
Estonia
We have the honour to invite you to participate in the first-ever Climate-Health Ministerial meeting
and over-arching Health Day on 3 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), as part
of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will take place from 30 November to 12 December
2023. COP28 will have an unprecedented focus on climate action that improves human health and
well-being.
As highlighted in our previous letter, dated 31 July 2023, the COP28 Presidency, the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention are co-hosting a climate-
health ministerial. Ministers of Health will convene alongside Ministers of Environment, Climate,
Finance, and other portfolios to deliver a political declaration reflecting our context-specific
priorities on investments, policies, and solutions to address the burden of climate change on health
systems. Finance institutions will also be closely engaged.
Please find attached a concept note for the ministerial. In addition, a draft of the COP28
Declaration on Climate and Health has been shared with your kind office, which we continue to
actively consult on and welcome feedback. The final version of the declaration will be
disseminated by 1 November, and we hope to receive your government’s endorsement.
In addition to the climate-health ministerial, COP28 Health Day will host a series of roundtables
and high-level events that seek to advance progress in climate-related areas. We welcome your
active participation in some of these events, in addition to the ministerial, to showcase your
country’s efforts and commitments.
Mr. Arthur Wyns at
[email protected] and Ms. Vedika Patwari at
[email protected] from
the COP28 Presidency, and Ms. Marina Maiero at
[email protected] from the Climate Change
and Health Unit at the WHO, are at your disposal to discuss the draft declaration, ministerial
meeting, and Health Day more broadly. Please provide your confirmation of attendance by COB
25 October.
We look forward to welcoming you on 3 December. Together, we are confident that we can deliver
a solutions-oriented COP that will safeguard and enhance the health and well-being of our
communities.
Sincerely,
Abdullah bin Zayed Dr Sultan Dr Tedros Adhanom Abdul Rahman bin
Al Nahyan Ahmed Al Jaber Ghebreyesus Mohamed Al-Owais
Minister of Foreign COP28 President- Director-General Minister of Health and
Affairs Designate World Health Prevention
United Arab Emirates Organization United Arab Emirates