The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe launched the first ‘Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health’ (PECCH) in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Wednesday 11 June, to accelerate action on health and climate.
Chaired by former Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the PECCH brings together eleven ‘commissioners’ from across the WHO European Region. These experts will formulate concrete recommendations at the intersection of health and climate.
Through public and expert hearings, the commission will also actively engage with representatives from other regions to work together on shared solutions. Particular attention will be paid to small states and island states, which are often the first to suffer the effects of the climate crisis.
“It’s time to acknowledge an undeniable truth: the climate crisis is a health crisis. It’s already killing us, and without urgent action, it will get much worse”, said Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)