At COP 28, spotlight on the harmful effects of climate change on health, Monday. In Brussels, a climate march took place on Sunday.
Dotted with skyscrapers, Dubai’s skyline was obscured by pollution on Monday, as delegations gathered at the UN climate conference focused on the harmful effects of climate change on health.
Visitors were able to walk through “pollution pods,” a set of three interconnected geodesic domes designed to simulate air quality in three cities, London, New Delhi and Beijing.
“When you go there, you feel the level of pollution in these cities,” says Jane Burston, Executive Director of the Clean Air Fund.
The impact of climate change on the spread of diseases, including cholera and malaria, is particularly a major concern.
$777 million was pledged for neglected tropical diseases to improve the lives of 1.6 billion people at the Reaching the Last Mile Forum organized as part of COP 28.
This is the first time that health is on the agenda of the UN climate summit.
Meanwhile, protests have taken place in several European metropolises demanding urgent action against climate change.
In Brussels, at least 20,000 people took part in a climate march on Sunday, organized by the Climate Coalition which brings together 90 Belgian civil society organizations.
The integration of climate issues into the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins on January 1, was one of their main demands.