In brief
On Nov. 6, 2026, researchers from the University of Sydney announced that climate change should be declared a global health emergency, citing the Lancet Countdown 2026 report. The report cites record heat‑related deaths and significant economic losses, while noting that fossil fuels still dominate global electricity generation. Clean‑energy investment has reached a record high, but still falls short of cutting the millions of deaths linked to pollution.
On Nov. 6, 2026, in Sydney, a group of researchers from the University of Sydney announced that climate change should be declared a global health emergency, citing the Lancet Countdown 2026 report on health and climate change. The statement, released by the university, called attention to the rapid acceleration of climate‑related health risks following the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The Lancet report, produced by 146 researchers from 71 institutions and led in collaboration with University College London and the World Health Organization, found that many climate‑driven health hazards grew faster in the decade after Paris than in the previous decade. Between 2016 and 2023, heat was associated with an estimated average of 540,800 deaths per year, with about 68 percent attributable to climate change.
In 2023, the hottest year in the period, heat was linked to a record 710,000 deaths worldwide, according to the report, with more than 70 percent considered attributable to human‑caused climate change.
The report also estimated that heat exposure would result in an estimated 573 billion potential work hours lost in 2025 and $1.07 trillion in potential income losses.
Although global clean‑energy investment reached a record $2.1 trillion in 2025, fossil fuels still supply more than 80 percent of the world’s electricity, and pollution from fossil fuels is linked to an estimated 2.73 million deaths annually, according to the study.