With the world edging closer to critical climate thresholds, global health and climate experts are calling for urgent, coordinated actions – led by China and the United States – to protect humanity from the mounting health threats of a warming planet.

Their appeal came during the 5th World Health Forum held over this weekend in Beijing, where the intersection of climate change and public health took center stage. The event's theme, "Climate Change and Health: Responsibility, Governance, and a Shared Future for Mankind," reflects how global health governance is adapting to the realities of a hotter world.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, now the chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, opened the event with a clear message that countries must come in solidarity to tackle climate-related health issues, especially for countries like China and the U.S.

"I appeal to you all who are here today and who are listening to this meeting and all of our political business and civil society leaders to work together to address the most urgent, imminent threat to our humanity and the planet Earth," Ban said, and calling for actions to ensure the planet remains sustainable for future generations.

According to a 2024 report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), there is now a 70 percent chance that the five-year average temperature between 2025 and 2029 will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels – the critical limit set by the Paris Agreement. The WMO has already confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record, about 1.55 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 baseline.

The rising temperatures have far-reaching consequences for global health, from worsening air quality and heat-related illnesses to shifts in infectious disease patterns.

China's evolving climate-health governance

Over the past decade, China has embedded climate adaptation and health resilience into national policy that's been recognized by global scientists.

Under its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), China reaffirmed its goals to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The country also aims to build a climate-resilient society by 2035, integrating health, environment and disaster response systems.

According to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China has established the world's largest ecological and environmental monitoring network, covering all cities at the prefecture level and above, key river basins and jurisdictional seas nationwide with a variety of environmental elements, including water, air, soil and noise pollution.

Experts said these integrated systems represent a model for linking environmental governance with health outcomes.

Patrick Kinney, professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, said China was among the first to recognize the profound risks of climate change and has since mobilized resources to strengthen research and translate evidence into policy. He added that he has "been really impressed by the rapid advance over the last decade and the ability of China to generate evidence that's helping to drive their policies."

Globally acclaimed climate scientist Chen Deliang, also a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a chair professor of Earth sciences at Tsinghua University, said that China's consistent national strategy on climate adaptation sets a strong example for the world.

"China and the U.S. are the two big nations... If the two really take the leadership as a good example, the world will follow," Chen said in an interview with CGTN.

Source:CGTN Zhao Chenchen

Videographer: Zhao Wenting