Climate change is placing growing pressure on public health through extreme heat, air pollution, food and water insecurity, shifting disease patterns and disruption to health services. Held on the sidelines of the UNFCCC June Climate Meetings (SB64), Advancing NDC Implementation through Integrated Climate and Health Solutions brought that pressure into focus. The event was hosted by the Pathfinder Initiative at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, C40 Cities, the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology and the Government of Somalia, drawing together expertise from national government, cities, public health, climate policy and the United Nations to examine how integrated action can advance Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), while strengthening health, resilience and equity.
Moderated by Dr Iris Blom, Researcher at the Pathfinder Initiative, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the session opened with the wider policy context. Gulnara Roll, Head of the Sectoral Transition Section at the United Nations Environment Programme, examined how integrated sectoral action can strengthen NDC and NAP implementation, using sustainable cooling to illustrate the link between mitigation, adaptation and health. Through the implementation of the Global Cooling Pledge, the world's first collective commitment to cut cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050, the UNEP-led Cool Coalition is supporting over 70 countries to bring sustainable cooling into their national climate plans, building codes, efficiency standards and procurement. Roll referenced Somalia, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates as examples of how these priorities are being embedded in national planning, linking heat resilience and access to cooling with countries' wider climate and development goals.
From that global framing, the conversation moved to the realities of national delivery. Abdullahi Khalif, Senior Strategic Advisor on Climate Change at Somalia's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, outlined how sustainable cooling, heat resilience, food systems and early warning are being incorporated into the country's NDC implementation. Somalia's experience demonstrated the need to align climate, health and development priorities within a single delivery framework, supported by stronger data, institutional coordination, technical assistance, international cooperation and finance capable of carrying commitments into practical action.
Where national plans set the frame, cities are often where they take shape. Urszula Kasparek, Head of CHAMP National Engagement at C40 Cities, highlighted the potential of urban planning, cleaner transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, climate-responsive buildings, improved air quality and expanded green and blue spaces. Cities are already testing approaches that reduce emissions while improving health and quality of life. Connecting this experience more systematically with national planning would allow evidence from local implementation to inform stronger NDCs and NAPs, while giving cities clearer policy mandates, institutional support and access to finance.
Underpinning these levels of government is the evidence that justifies action. Dr George D. Thurston, Professor of Environmental Medicine and Population Health at New York University and representing the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, reinforced the health and economic case, drawing on evidence from India and Pittsburgh showing how measures to reduce air pollution can also lower greenhouse gas emissions, prevent illness and generate wider economic benefits. Incorporating these outcomes into policy assessment can strengthen the case for climate action and help decision-makers recognise benefits that are often overlooked when interventions are judged on emissions reductions alone.
Drawing the discussion to a close, Dr Lorna Benton, Research Fellow in Planetary Health at the Pathfinder Initiative, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine drew on examples from Paris, Monterrey and Barcelona to explore the role of evaluation and useful approaches in assessing effectiveness, feasibility and equity. Benton stressed that successful scale-up depends not only on technical performance, but on governance, financing, institutional capacity, political support and an understanding of how costs and benefits are distributed across communities.
Taken together, these perspectives pointed to a shared need for stronger cooperation across health, energy, environment, housing, transport, urban planning, food systems and finance. Climate and health outcomes are shaped across all these sectors, yet policies and investments are still too often developed separately. More integrated planning can help governments identify measures that deliver multiple benefits, address inequalities and avoid unintended consequences.
Throughout the discussion, health emerged as a powerful argument for stronger climate action. As attention turns towards the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya, the priority is to connect national ambition with city-level delivery, apply the evidence already available, and mobilise the partnerships and finance needed to implement integrated climate and health solutions at scale.