A hospital lab assistant processes a blood sample for dengue testing as cases continue to rise in Bangladesh in September 2025. Photo by: MD Abu Sufian Jewel via Reuters Connect
ON SOURCE: DEVEX
Philanthropies commit $300M for climate-health solutions at COP30
A new coalition of 35 funders is backing efforts to scale solutions on extreme heat, air pollution, and climate-driven disease — and strengthen climate-resilient health systems.
By Cheena Kapoor // 13 November 2025
Belém, Brazil — A major philanthropic push is giving new momentum to climate-health action at the 30th U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP30, where 35 global funders have announced a $300 million commitment to accelerate solutions at this critical intersection.
Climate and health experts have long cautioned that global warming is already harming people’s health. Across much of the global south, rising heat and humidity are triggering dangerous — and sometimes deadly — health emergencies. The COP30 agenda now calls on countries to join the Mutirão for Climate, a collective effort meant to scale up real-world solutions.
This growing recognition of public health crises caused by climate change, which puts at least 3.3 billion people around the world at risk, was underscored by the new philanthropic pledge. On the sidelines of COP30, the funders launched the Climate and Health Funders Coalition, committing $300 million “for integrated action to tackle both the causes of climate change and its consequences for health — accelerating solutions where they are needed most.”
The coalition includes Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, The Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Philanthropy Asia Alliance, and others.
The immediate focus for the fund will be to advance solutions, innovations, policies, and research on extreme heat, air pollution, and climate-sensitive infectious diseases. The fund will also strengthen the integration of critical climate and health data to support resilient health systems that protect people’s lives and livelihoods, according to a press release.
“Climate change is the gravest health threat of our time, and no single organisation, community, or country can tackle it alone,” Naveen Rao, senior vice president of the health initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation, said. “By coming together to align our priorities and combine our resources, this coalition can accelerate solutions faster, reach more communities, and achieve greater impact. This is the power of collaboration: recognizing the urgency of the challenge and working as one to protect lives, strengthen health systems, and build resilience for communities around the world.”
According to the recently released 2025 Lancet Countdown on Climate and Health, the rate of heat-related deaths has surged 23% since the 1990s, reaching 546,000 a year. A record 154,000 deaths in 2024 were linked to wildfire smoke, while the global potential for dengue transmission has risen by nearly 50% since the 1950s.
Climate and health experts have repeatedly warned that warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius risks unleashing more severe climate impacts and extreme weather with major consequences for human health. They have also warned that climate change is worsening malnutrition and threatening maternal and newborn health, as extreme weather events are disrupting food and water systems and destroying health care infrastructure.
“Health is inaccessible to many people. Pregnant women are coming into hospitals with heat shocks, and children with severe malnutrition. There have been times when floods damaged hospitals in Uganda. As health workers, we see that climate change is a lived reality for many,” said Dr. Brian Agaba, deputy country director at Seed Global Health, at a health and adaptation event at the World Health Organization pavilion at COP30.
WHO and its partners said they will continue underscoring that health is the human face of climate change — and the strongest moral case for bold, equitable climate action.
This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. Devex retains full editorial independence.
ON SOURCE: DEVEX