In the face of the climate crisis, we often overlook one of its critical consequences: malnutrition. The connection between climate change and nutrition extends beyond health and food concerns; it is integral to overall sustainable development, and these connections must be more effectively integrated. A place to start that integration is the Conference of Parties climate conference (COP).
When a child dies, half of the time, the underlying cause is malnutrition. Those who survive but continue to suffer from malnutrition don’t grow mentally or physically to their potential. For example, a child who has suffered severe malnutrition before age three will complete five fewer years of schooling than well-nourished children, and studies show that people who go hungry as children earn 10% less over their lifetimes and are 33% less likely to escape poverty. These figures represent real individuals unable to reach their potential—and without thriving populations, entire communities are ever more vulnerable to increasing climate shocks and extreme events.
Long-term climate projections and near-term climate-related extreme events are and will continue to worsen malnutrition outcomes. Women, children and other vulnerable populations living amid conflict and poverty suffer disproportionately from these effects. Extreme events such as heat, prolonged droughts and floods have devastating effects on women’s pregnancies, leading to preterm births and stillbirths, as well as childhood nutrition outcomes, including acute malnutrition, also known as wasting. Modeling from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation suggests that if no action is taken on climate change, there will be an additional 40 million children chronically undernourished, also known as stunting, and 28 million wasted children. This is devastating as there are already 148 million and 45 million children stunted and wasted, respectively. Those who suffer from the most severe forms of malnutrition often reside in the countries that contribute least to this crisis and bear the most devastating impacts, yet not enough has been done to rectify this inequity.
Policymakers and stakeholders who work on food and health systems challenges and transformations have started to engage with climate issues, yet nutrition rarely features in major climate discussions. Not surprisingly, findings from the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN) highlight a significant gap, revealing that only 2% of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and 16% of National Adaptation Plans have incorporated nutritional considerations. By not integrating nutrition into climate strategies and policies, global and national policymakers are missing an opportunity to help their populations survive and adapt amidst climate change.
Here are a few examples of how to better align nutrition and climate policies and programming:
First, we must build powerful alliances and foster collaboration across sectors to develop a shared narrative and commitment to strengthening nutrition service delivery in order to better prepare communities and the most vulnerable in the face of accelerating climate change. Initiatives such as I-CAN could be pivotal in facilitating and advocating for more integration of nutrition commitments and targets in the NDCs at the upcoming COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan this November. The Nutrition for Growth Summit will be held in France in March 2025, where activists, advocates and policymakers will convene and make political and financial commitments toward ending malnutrition relevant to adaptation responses to the climate crisis. The French government, along with other multi- and bi-laterals, has an opportunity to spearhead these crucial partnerships and alliances that co-invest in climate- and nutrition-smart investments. The conversation on dual investments in climate and nutrition should begin at the COP29 meeting among stakeholders.
Second, those who work in nutrition should double down their efforts to deliver priority interventions at scale, focusing particularly on the most vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women and children, and communicate with the climate community attending COP29 that these interventions are crucial for building resilience against the impacts of climate change. For example, climate change is reducing agricultural productivity and depleting nutrients in our food, which highlights the need to fortify staple crops with essential nutrients like iron, vitamin A, iodine and zinc. Moreover, all pregnant women should have access to prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation, which provides 15 crucial vitamins and minerals in one pill. Other interventions that should be prioritized and scaled include promoting exclusive breastfeeding; providing nutrient-rich complementary foods for young children; screening and treating acute malnutrition; and administering deworming medications. This focus is especially important given that funding for vital nutrition interventions has remained nearly stagnant since 2020 and is likely to decline further due to widespread cuts in overall development assistance. At COP29, commitments to nutrition interventions within climate agendas and strategies, including the NDCs, should be considered and negotiated.
Lastly, there is an opportunity to begin conversations on the importance of data for accountability at the COP29 meeting. For example, meteorological offices should collaborate with Ministries of Health to integrate climate information, improving their ability to anticipate and implement nutrition-focused climate adaptation strategies. Historically, user-friendly climate information has been implemented to inform food and social protection systems, as well as humanitarian responses to deliver food aid. However, by providing real-time, relevant data on extreme events, nutrition practitioners can stock, prepare and treat populations with short-term integrated interventions, such as water, sanitation and hygiene, and ready-to-use therapeutic foods to address malnutrition and avoid long-term ramifications on health. Countries like Madagascar are already taking this dual lens and targeting health and nutrition support to the most climate-vulnerable locations and strengthening community sites to effectively address undernutrition.
Climate and nutrition cut across issues—and both are urgent crises we must address. Recognizing their intricate relationship and embracing integrated solutions are essential to adapting to a changing world. Let’s make this COP29 a moment when climate and nutrition experts come together and carve a path forward.
Jessica Fanzo is professor of climate and director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at Columbia Climate School.
Bianca Carducci is a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia Climate School.
Yashodhara Rana is the associate director for research at the Eleanor Crook Foundation.
Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Columbia Climate School, Earth Institute or Columbia University.
