In brief
A Lancet Countdown report and a statement by the University of Sydney have called for declaring climate change a global health emergency, citing a 710,000‑death record in 2023 from heat waves. The report shows climate‑related health risks accelerated after the Paris Agreement, and highlights the continued dominance of fossil fuels in supplying energy worldwide.
Experts from over 70 research institutions—including seven from the University of Sydney—have called for climate change to be declared a global health emergency, according to a report highlighted by Xinhua on Sunday, November 6.
The 2026 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change notes that climate‑driven health hazards surged faster in the decade since the Paris Agreement than in the preceding decade, with an average of 540,800 heat‑related deaths per year between 2016 and 2023, about 68 percent of which the report attributes to human‑caused climate change.
In 2023, the hottest year in the period, heat was linked to a record 710,000 deaths worldwide, with more than 70 percent attributable to anthropogenic warming, the report—led by University College London in partnership with the World Health Organization—states.
The Countdown also estimates that heat exposure will cause a loss of 573 billion potential work hours in 2025 and $1.07 trillion in potential income losses.
While global clean‑energy investment hit a record $2.1 trillion in 2025, fossil fuels still supply more than 80 percent of the world’s electricity; the resulting pollution is linked to an estimated 2.73 million deaths annually.