Toolkit: Mobilizing for COP28 + Health Day
Note: While this toolkit was originally developed for COP28, many of the messages and graphics can be repurposed for future milestones as well, as they draw on the broader narrative that is not tied to COP.
Our shared message to leaders:
Act on Climate. Our Lives Depend on It.
3 key ways to engage:
Click on the (+) to expand for more details and inspiration.
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We must use our presence at COP28 and other global advocacy efforts to demonstrate to global leaders that there is broad demand for ambitious climate action throughout COP negotiations; that there is growing alignment on fundamentals across issue areas, sectors, geographies; and that the global health and medical community intends to hold leaders accountable to the commitments made.
Example actions
Tell leaders: ‘Act on Climate: Our Lives Depend on It’: Use the ideas and language from the shared Climate and Health narrative to shape your advocacy efforts and signal a cohesive movement for climate and health action.
Collectively emphasize narrative themes at strategic moments throughout COP28: Connect health to the various thematic days at COP28, using the suggested messaging and engagement timeline in the toolkit below.
Add your voice to key calls to action for this COP28: Below is a selection of endorsement letters created by key partners. We will share any additional opportunities to engage we identify throughout COP28.
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Climate and health action is not needed just at the international level. There are key actions that national, local, and organizational leaders can take to prepare our communities better to build more sustainable societies and contend with the health impacts of the climate crisis. Use this moment to identify relevant local stakeholders in your networks who you may have the power to influence and encourage them to become champions for joint climate and health action.
Example actions:
Contact health ministers, local leaders, or leaders at your organization: Many of the climate and health solutions in discussion at COP28 have local implications. For example, cities may have local decarbonization initiatives to help achieve national goals, and organizational leaders have a crucial role in implementing health system adaptations. Consider reviewing the Global Climate and Health Alliance’s COP28 Policy Priorities and narrative for inspiration and consider how to adapt for local context.
Share COP28 coverage to bring in new allies: Use coverage of Health Day or other COP28-related headlines, along with language from the narrative, to draw the connection between climate and your particular issue areas. Use relevant hashtags or post in relevant forums to get the information in front of new eyes who might otherwise not have stopped to read coverage more in-depth (examples below).
Link to issues you care about with specific data points and stories: Talking about health can help people see the climate crisis in a more personal way. You can supplement language from the narrative with specific data or messaging to connect your climate and health priorities to the collective calls to action (examples below).
Place op-eds on relevant climate & health priorities in local publications: Use language from the narrative and stats about the local impact of climate and health to call attention to this intersection in your own community. You can visit our partner Climate Nexus’s website for tips on writing and pitching op-eds
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Use this convening as an opportunity to establish multi-sectoral partnerships and build global networks needed to build momentum for joint climate and health action and advocacy.
Example actions
Attend virtual and in-person climate and health events: Show your support for other climate and health efforts, and identify networking opportunities with other people and organizations at the events.
For those at COP28: Bring health messaging to all pavilions to help humanize the impacts of climate change and forge connections across sectors. Tackling the climate crisis and building resilient communities will require us to build new relationships and identify solutions in every sector that determines health outcomes. There are many great opportunities to engage with other sectors and ensure health is centered in every conversation about climate action by visiting other pavilions at COP28.
For those not at COP28: Reach out to individuals or organizations sharing useful climate and health information. Many organizations will be showcasing their work on climate and health over the next two weeks. If you attend an event or see a particularly helpful resource online, reach out directly to the organization to set up virtual bilateral meetings.
Reminder: the Climate x Health google group is designed to be a forum that you can use to share your organization’s resources. If you have reports, events, or other offerings to share, you can email them to climatexhealth@googlegroups.com.
Social media toolkit
Graphics & Animated GIFs - click to download
Suggested posts by topic
The thematic days at COP28 are a chance to highlight the connections between climate and health across a range of issues. We have provided suggested messaging linking concepts from the climate and health narrative to 1-2 themes per day below. You can access the full COP28 program here, including the complete list of thematic days.
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The climate crisis is a health crisis, fueled by an untenable status quo.
📣 All over the world, health professionals are calling on leaders to deliver on joint climate & health action. Join us: https://www.climatexhealth.org
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For too long, the countries, companies & communities responsible for the highest shares of historical emissions have dodged responsibility for the climate crisis.
We call on global leaders at #COP28 to increase their commitments to financing an equitable & health-centered solution.
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Those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis are suffering the most.
We must allocate responsibility and resources in a way that advances equity and justice.
Those who are the most impacted must be at the front of the room, around the table, & on the agenda.
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From the food that we eat to the energy that society runs on, every climate policy has the ability to impact human health.
We must work across all sectors to build resilient societies and deliver on the promise of #HealthForAll.
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Countries have committed US$100 billion annually to finance the climate transition.
That’s a hefty price tag - but the human cost of inaction is higher. At the end of the day, the success of climate action will be measured in lives saved, not dollars spent.
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Every tenth of a degree of warming 🔥 heightens the risk of irreparable harm to lives and the environment - and children will suffer the consequences for longer.
We must invest in the health of future generations now by building resilient systems able to withstand future shocks.
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Misinformation about the climate crisis stands in the way of meaningful action.
We must work with trusted brokers of information, including community health workers, to share evidence about the impact of climate change and the solutions available to communities.
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We cannot achieve #HealthForAll on a dying planet 🌏
Protecting human health means defending our environment, from the forests that regulate the earth's temperature to the biodiversity that is essential to our food systems, medicines, ecosystem stability & more.
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The climate crisis is threatening crop yield, disrupting food systems & endangering access to clean water - and 500 million people will experience food insecurity by 2050 as a result.
Global leaders at #COP28 must act on climate now. Our lives depend on it.
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Human rights, health and climate are inextricably linked.
Together we will elevate the needs of the communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, advance climate justice and build resilient systems to protect everyone’s health and wellbeing.
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Check back here for suggested messaging based on where things stand heading into the final negotiations at COP28, which may require rapid mobilization to advocate for or against particular outcomes.
