Impact of climate change on the geographic extension of health risks
The direct and indirect effects of climate change are being felt around the world, albeit to varying degrees and in different ways. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that climate change could cause up to 250,000 additional deaths per year worldwide between 2030 and 20501. In May 2020, 350 organisations representing some 40 million health professionals and 4,500 professionals from 90 countries called on G20 leaders to prioritise investments in public health, climate, air and water quality as part of the recovery from Covid-19.
The poorest and most vulnerable populations are generally the hardest hit because of their living conditions, health status and/or difficulties in accessing healthcare. But the recurrence and intensity of heat waves, the increase in extreme weather events causing natural disasters and the emergence of infectious diseases are challenges for less vulnerable populations, with a significant economic impact and repercussions on lifestyle and employment.
Preventing and combating the effects of climate change is a major and complex challenge for the French authorities. The forces, directorates and services of the armed forces are faced with a multifaceted problem due to the diversity of their missions, the status of their personnel and their geographical locations. The French territory is composed of metropolitan France and twelve overseas territories, including Overseas Departments and Regions (DROM), Overseas Collectivities (COM) and uninhabited lands. The national maritime domain covers 11.2 million km2 , or 3% of the world’s seas. This surface area allows the national domain to be characterised by significant climatic, geological and environmental diversity. However, it also means that the issue of French nationals spread around the world, in the DROM-COMs or expatriates, must be taken into account.
According to the ranking published in 2019 by the NGO Germanwatch, which takes into account the number of deaths and the economic impact linked to extreme weather events, France would be 15th in the ranking of the 183 countries most exposed to extreme weather events, and 8th for mortality between 1999 and 2018. The climate risk index used by the NGO indicates the level of exposure and vulnerability of countries to extreme events (based on their direct impact only), and climate change is one of the factors identified as having an impact on the probability of occurrence and severity of these events.
