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We all know that Australia punches above its weight in international diplomacy and multilateral geopolitics — from humanitarian aid efforts, to international negotiations, and beyond. Our health professions now have the chance to contribute our outsized influence in the global climate and health agenda.
In early 2025 Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) was selected to join the Steering Group of the World Health Organization’s Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH) as the representative voice for Health Professional Associations (HPAs) worldwide. This role places an Australian medical organisation at the heart of international health and climate policy, giving health professionals here and overseas a direct voice in shaping global responses to one of the most urgent health challenges of our time.
Climate change is not a future health problem — it is already driving morbidity, mortality, and widening inequities here and now. The impacts are all too familiar for doctors working in emergency departments during a heatwave, general practitioners treating mental illness exacerbated by climate related events, and surgeons and anaesthetists attempting to operate when bushfire smoke is inundating their operating theatres.
The World Health Organization’s ATACH initiative was established in 2021 in response to these realities. The fact that DEA — a relatively small, volunteer based Australian medical organisation — was chosen to represent all health professional associations globally is both remarkable and revealing. It signals recognition not only of DEA’s impact through advocacy, but also of the unique leadership that health professionals can offer in bridging science, policy, and frontline patient care.
Why health professional representation matters on the international stage
As of 2020, there were 65.1 million health workers worldwide, with 12.7 million medical doctors included in this tally, as well as 29.1 million nurses, and a diverse range of other health professions. Globally, Health Professional Associations (HPAs) are among the most trusted voices in public discourse. From medical colleges and nursing unions to associations of community health workers, dentists, midwives, pharmacists, and psychologists, HPAs represent millions of health workers worldwide. Collectively, they have technical knowledge, provide a trusted voice, and the practical reach to influence patient behaviour, health system priorities, and government policy. By addressing climate change, either through their clinical practice or advocacy efforts, HPAs can and do meet the moral imperative to address the climate crisis.
Until recently, however, these associations were under-represented in formal international climate and health processes. Governments and civil society organisations have traditionally had a seat at the table, but the voices of those directly delivering or managing healthcare has, until now, been less visible. By appointing DEA as the official representative for all HPAs on its Steering Group, the World Health Organization has formally acknowledged that clinicians are not just implementers of policy, but essential partners in shaping it.
These actions on the international stage also have benefits back home. For example, Australia achieved a major milestone with the publication of its National Health and Climate Strategy in December 2023. International collaboration is one of the four key objectives of this strategy, and the non-government sector, through organisations like DEA, must engage in this. Moreover, it will ultimately be the responsibility of health professionals, their associations, and the health systems they manage and lead, to carry out the 50 or so actions within the national strategy. Leadership of the ATACH HPA constituency enables international learning and engagement at a grass roots level, to make our efforts locally in Australia more effective and impactful. The sobering findings of Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment published in September 2025 underscore the importance for health professionals to address a problem that will ultimately come to their front door.
Australia’s health leadership moment
Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) has been at the forefront of advocating for protecting health through care of the environment, and placing these issues onto the national agenda. Founded in 2001, the organisation now includes thousands of members representing all medical specialties and stages of training. Its advocacy has contributed to significant change, from state and territory health services developing and implementing climate and health strategies, to the federal government’s commitment to establishing the new National Health Sustainability and Climate Unit.
DEA’s influence extends well beyond advocacy. In September, we convened the Health + Climate Forum at Parliament House which brought together Australia’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience, five of the “teal” independent Members of Parliament, powerful First Nations voices, and two senior health leaders from the Pacific who are leading the health sector’s fight at the frontlines of the climate crisis. This ability to unite diverse and influential voices underscores DEA’s role as a trusted convener and catalyst for change, and demonstrates why it has been chosen to represent HPAs at the ATACH table. In late November, DEA’s leadership was also recognised at the High-Level Climate and Health Roundtable, convened by World Health Organization’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health and the Australian Government, where DEA’s Executive Director and Board Chair contributed to discussions on the implementation of the Belém Health Action Plan, Pacific leadership, and Australia’s role heading into the United Nations climate conference in 2026 (COP31).
By stepping into this international role with the World Health Organization, DEA is not only representing HPAs globally but also showcasing Australian expertise and leadership. It demonstrates how a clinician-led, independent organisation can help shape international policy conversations and connect grassroots medical voices to global decision-making forums, taking a seat at the table not as witnesses but as active changemakers.
Future opportunities
The next two years will be critical to enhancing Australia’s global health leadership. With the recently concluded United Nations COP30 conference in Brazil, the focus now shifts to COP31, where Türkiye will host and Australia will take on the role of President of Negotiations. Importantly, the Pre-COP will be held in the Pacific, creating a crucial opportunity to elevate frontline health, equity, and climate justice priorities from the region into the formal negotiation process — an area where the ATACH Steering Group has a key leadership role. These summits are likely to elevate health higher than ever before on the climate agenda. Having an Australian organisation representing health professionals worldwide at this moment is an extraordinary opportunity.
In an era where the health impacts of climate change are increasingly undeniable, that representation could not be timelier. We urge all health professionals to join us as a part of the ATACH Health Professional Associations (HPAs) constituency — and bring your own health professional associations along for the journey. This is our collective opportunity to lead by bringing the expertise and authority of health professionals to the centre of climate decisions, to drive action, influence policy and protect the health of generations to come.
Please write to us directly at attach.hpa@dea.org.au to join forces with DEA.
Dr Kimberly Humphrey is a senior emergency medicine specialist, DEA Board Director and the ATACH HPA Focal Point. She attended the UN COP30 climate negotiations this year (her fourth COP) where she also treated country delegates for smoke inhalation after the venue caught fire.
Dr Aditya Vyas is a public health physician, DEA Board Director and was a senior advisor to the UN COP28 Health Programme, which delivered the first-ever Health Day at the international climate change negotiations in 2023.
The statements or opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy of the AMA, the MJA or InSight+ unless so stated.
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