Unlocking climate progress

Bill Gates’ call for the United Nations (UN) to pivot from climate action focused on temperature goals to vaccines has misread the challenge we face. Investments in climate mitigation and develop-ment are not competing priorities.

- MARIANA MAZZUCATO

On the contrary, with the World Health Organization projecting that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050, climate action is also health action.

All those attending the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém this week should keep this insight in mind. But Mr Gates is right that we must deliver real solutions, and, as the Brazilian government has made clear, the goal for this “Solutions COP” is to bridge the gap between declarations and delivery, which will require allocating scarce resources effectively.

Progress at COP30 is far from assured. The United Kingdom has just withdrawn its funding for the proposed Tropical Forest Forever Facility, which is supposed to be formally adopted this month. Making matters worse, the European Union has just weakened its 2040 decar-bonisation target by allowing countries to buy foreign carbon credits rather than cutting domestic emissions. Meanwhile, 3.3 billion people live in countries that are spending more on interest payments than on health, implying that they are foregoing investments in climate resilience.