Dubai, Dec 3: India on Sunday refrained from signing the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health, with sources pointing out that curbing greenhouse gas use for cooling in the health sector, which is one of the points in the document, may not be practical or achievable within the country’s healthcare infrastructure in the short term.
The Health Day also did not see any participation from the Indian Health Ministry delegation even though India extended support to the ministerial hosted by the COP28 Presidency, the World Health Organisation and the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Sunday.
The declaration calls for climate action to achieve “benefits for health from deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including from just transitions, lower air pollution, active mobility, and shifts to sustainable healthy diets”.
On the occasion of the first Health Day at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) on Sunday, the declaration expressed grave concern about the negative impacts of climate change on health.
The declaration has been signed by 124 countries till now with the US and India, which are among the top greenhouse gas emitters, absent from the list of signatories.
The declaration, aimed at addressing the critical intersection between climate change and global health, emphasises the need for swift and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
However, a sticking point emerged as the draft outlined a commitment to reducing greenhouse gases for cooling applications within healthcare infrastructure – a measure India finds difficult to comply with, sources said.
India, a nation grappling with significant healthcare challenges, including those exacerbated by climate change, expressed concerns that greenhouse gas reduction for cooling in the health sector could hinder its ability to meet the growing demands for medical services, particularly in remote and underserved areas, a delegate from Kenya said.
India had put emphasis on resilient health in its G20 declaration.
The three health priorities of India’s G20 presidency were building a resilient healthcare system, creating a platform for improving access to medical countermeasures and creating a platform for sharing digital goods between countries. (PTI)
