Youth at the Forefront of Climate Action for NCD Prevention

There is a growing global consensus about the profound threat posed by climate change to human health as reflected in the World Health Organization (WHO) Draft Global Plan on Climate Change and Health. Health is not just an outcome of climate action—it is one of its most compelling arguments. There are around 7 million deaths annually due to climate-related factors like air pollution.

Following the High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in September 2025, this session will reflect the interrelation between NCDs and climate change. According to WHO, there is increasing strong evidence for a relation between increased morbidity and mortality from NCDs and extreme weather events, including heat waves, and increasingly unhealthy diets and food and water insecurity. Climate change also poses serious risks to mental health.

Youth, particularly in Low-and Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs), are disproportionately affected by NCDs exacerbated by climate change. There is an increasing need to center equity and social justice in the Climate-NCD dialogue by addressing the burdens on vulnerable populations and ensuring the inclusion of underrepresented youth voices at global health governance platforms and decision-making processes.

This panel aims to foster cross-sector collaboration, bringing together youth leaders, health professionals, advocates, and policymakers to accelerate integrated action. By bridging the health, climate, education, and youth policy spaces, this discussion will emphasize the vital role that young people, being the largest demographic globally, must play in shaping a future that addresses both climate change and the growing burden of NCDs.