In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new project, the Climate and Health Co-Benefits Challenge, to highlight public health and climate change solutions that overlap. The objective of the programme is to raise solutions to save lives now, and to support the adaptation and mitigation efforts of communities to changes in the warming world.

The challenge calls on governments, cities, civil society organisations, health professionals and communities to demonstrate real-world solutions that can contribute to tangible health benefits, as announced on Monday, 18 May 2026. WHO officials added that the program "restresses the understanding that climate action and health outcomes go hand in hand – steps taken to curb climate change can also help reduce disease, improve air quality, and build resilience.”  

Co-benefit interventions can include the provision of active transport options like walking and cycling, which can reduce vehicle emissions and minimize heart and lung disease; increased access to clean cookstoves can reduce indoor air pollution; and providing access to green spaces can be beneficial for people's mental health and can provide thermal relief from city heat. WHO is imploring the participants to submit proof of measurable climate (outputs) and health (outputs + outcomes) impacts.

Already, the impacts of climate change on health are global, the increasing number of heatwaves, rising air pollution, and the changing distribution of diseases, for example, as well as the risks to food and water security. The co-benefits challenge builds upon WHO's ongoing efforts to mainstream the consideration of climate factors into health systems and policy planning. The organisation aims to drive innovation by raising up in real world examples solutions that offer multiple benefits, which can be scaled. 

WHO stressed that numerous interventions are effective, evidence-based, and low-cost available to implement immediately. It intends to organize and disseminate lessons learned from local examples from around the globe, which will aid policymakers and practitioners in learning from each other.

Documenting co-benefits successes can also bolster evidence and policy for climate finance and policy action, as it demonstrates the impact of climate actions on health priorities. This challenge will call on submissions via WHO channels, and seek to develop a global repository of evidence of the potential of integrated strategies to protect people and the planet.