Distinguished delegates,

In 2021, air pollution was responsible for approximately 8.1 million premature deaths globally, making it the second leading risk factor for death worldwide. Of these, about 5.1 million deaths, approximately 61%, were directly linked to fossil fuel combustion. This equates to roughly one in five deaths globally.

Phasing out fossil fuels would yield the largest reductions in deaths in South, Southeast, and East Asia, preventing about 3.85 million deaths each year. With another 460,000 deaths being prevented in high income countries.

We urge countries to adopt ambitious and costed climate-health policies, divest public funds from fossil fuels, sign the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and transition health systems to clean, renewable energy.

Thank you.