Commentary: Climate Resilience Must Put Youth And Health At The Centre

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The author is president of UAE Safety and Emergency Security Association and professor of sustainable development at the American University of Sharjah. He is a former UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and former Minister of Infrastructure. He authored two books on climate change that influenced academic and international reforms.

Climate change has shifted from a distant environmental concern to a defining force shaping the trajectory of human development. Its impacts are visible in rising temperatures, intensifying storms, shifting disease patterns, and the growing fragility of ecosystems.

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What we witness today in the changing climate makes us more cautious and more aware of how this transformation can negatively affect future generations. These indicators we experience today can be positive if they encourage us to think seriously about how to protect youth and the generations to come. Awareness, in this context, becomes a form of responsibility.

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In my book, Climate Change Enigma: A Delicate Balance, I wrote:“We are entering an era in which environmental instability will test the resilience of every social, economic, and health system we have built.” This observation is no longer theoretical. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures have already risen by 1.1°C above pre‐industrial levels, and the last decade has been the warmest ever recorded.

Heatwaves that historically occurred once every 50 years now strike every 10 years, and their intensity has doubled. The World Health Organization estimates that climate change will cause an additional 250,000 deaths annually between 2030 and 2050, driven by heat stress, malnutrition, malaria, and diarrheal disease. These numbers, however, only hint at a deeper and emerging challenge: the intersection between climate stressors and chronic diseases, including cancer.

Health risks

Air pollution remains one of the most significant climate‐related health risks. In 2024, exposure to PM2.5 contributed to 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide. These fine particles penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and accelerate oxidative stress and inflammation-pathways closely linked to cancer development and progression.

Climate change intensifies this exposure through wildfires, dust storms, and stagnant air masses. Wildfire smoke contains carcinogenic compounds such as benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and long‐term exposure has been associated with a 5 to 10 per cent increase in respiratory cancer risk. These are not hypothetical risks; they are measurable, documented, and growing.

Extreme heat adds another layer of vulnerability. In 2023, Europe recorded more than 60,000 heat‐related deaths, underscoring the physiological strain heat places on the human body. For cancer patients, heat stress reduces treatment tolerance, weakens immune function, and increases the likelihood of dehydration and renal complications.

Studies show that prolonged heatwaves correlate with higher hospitalisation rates and lower treatment adherence among cancer patients, particularly the elderly and economically disadvantaged.

Climate‐driven disasters further disrupt healthcare systems, delaying diagnostics, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. After Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico experienced a 30 per cent reduction in cancer treatment capacity, with thousands of patients facing interruptions that worsened survival outcomes.

Evolving landscape

Youth stand at the centre of this evolving landscape. They are biologically more sensitive to environmental exposures, socially shaped by rapid urbanisation, and psychologically affected by ecological uncertainty.

Children and adolescents absorb pollutants more rapidly than adults, and research shows that youth exposed to high levels of PM2.5 have a 40 percent higher risk of developing chronic respiratory conditions later in life. More than 55 percent of the world's population now lives in urban areas-a figure expected to reach 68 percent by 2050-exposing young people to sedentary lifestyles, processed diets, and higher pollution levels. These factors increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cancer, creating a complex web of climate‐linked health vulnerabilities.

The psychological dimension is equally significant. A global survey of 10,000 young people across ten countries found that 59 per cent feel very or extremely worried about climate change, and 45 per cent report that climate concerns affect their daily functioning.

Climate anxiety is no longer a fringe concept; it is a lived reality shaping mental health, academic performance, and long‐term wellbeing. The next generation is not only inheriting environmental risks; it is inheriting the emotional burden of anticipating them.

Profound responsibility

In this context, universities and knowledge institutions carry a profound responsibility. Abu Dhabi University, like other leading institutions in the UAE, is uniquely positioned to advance interdisciplinary research, integrate climate‐health topics into curricula, and empower students to design climate‐resilient solutions.

The UAE's leadership in climate diplomacy, public health innovation, and youth empowerment provides fertile ground for academic institutions to shape a generation capable of navigating uncertain futures with confidence and clarity.

Protecting future generations requires integrated governance frameworks that link climate adaptation with public health strategies. Environmental monitoring systems must be strengthened to detect early warning signs of pollution, heatwaves, and ecosystem disruption.

Healthcare infrastructure must be made climate‐resilient, ensuring continuity of care during extreme events. Preventive health services, including cancer screening, must be accessible and equitable. Youth‐centered resilience programs should be developed to enhance awareness, strengthen adaptive capacity, and promote sustainable lifestyles.

Warnings, opportunities

Climate change is not a siloed challenge. It intersects with health, development, and social stability. Addressing it demands holistic, evidence‐based strategies that place youth at the centre of policy design.

The future may be uncertain, but uncertainty is not a barrier; it is an invitation to act with foresight, responsibility, and collective purpose. The climate signals we witness today are warnings, but they are also opportunities-opportunities to rethink how we build resilience, how we design policy, and how we safeguard the generations yet to come.

Our responsibility is clear: to ensure that the next generation inherits not only the risks of a changing climate, but the knowledge, resilience, and systems needed to thrive despite them.

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