Acting Early on Non-Communicable Diseases 2026

Opportunities for co-benefits remain largely untapped. Better NCD outcomes simultaneously reduce emissions: preventing chronic kidney disease progression can halve the condition’s CO2 impact by avoiding dialysis,81 while Canada’s virtual care expansion avoided 330,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2021 alone.82 Yet such co-benefits typically remain unquantified and unvalued in resource allocation, perpetuating high-emission care models even when lower-emission alternatives would improve both health outcomes and environmental sustainability. –Develop comprehensive emissions measurement: Create standardized methodologies for calculating healthcare emissions from pharmaceutical life cycles through service delivery. Demonstrate how better patient outcomes reduce environmental footprint, supporting the case for improved care pathways. –Build climate-resilient services: Systematically assess climate vulnerabilities for NCD patients who face disproportionate risks. Develop adjusted clinical protocols for heatwaves and climate events, ensure medication security during power outages and translate heat warnings into modified care advice. –Quantify environmental co-benefits: Calculate emissions avoided through prevention programmes, community-based care and virtual consultations. Incorporate environmental co-benefits into investment decisions, systematically pursuing synergies. –Integrate health-environment governance: Create formal mechanisms linking health and environmental agencies. Establish joint planning for health and climate strategies, shared accountability frameworks and coordinated response protocols. –Address environmental health inequities: Ensure climate adaptation measures explicitly target vulnerable populations. Direct environmental health interventions – including air-quality improvements and cooling infrastructure – to populations facing multiple disadvantages.Policy levers Acting Early on Non-Communicable Diseases: A Framework for Health System Transformation 22