Participants take a group photo at the launch ceremony of the world's first county-level "living laboratory" for climate and health. [Photo/Ningyuan Institute of Climate and Sustainable Development (Hainan)]

A global gathering on climate and health — signifying a paradigm shift in the field — was recently held in Hainan province.

The conference, named "International innovation cooperation on climate and health: China's practice in building a global community of health for all", was held on Feb 1 in Hainan's Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County.

It was hosted by the World Health Organization and co-organized by Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, the Institute for Global Health and Development at Peking University and other related institutions.

The event was one of the first batch of international technical cooperation projects launched during the inaugural year of the Hainan Free Trade Port's island-wide special customs operations.

More importantly, it was widely believed to signal a fundamental direction change in global climate and health governance — from top-level models to localized pilot testing at the county level.

In fact, Baoting has already established a solid foundation for international cooperation before this conference.

In 2025, the UNDP Green and Digital Innovation Partnership (UNDP-GDIP) pilot project was launched there. The county also hosted the seventh Friends of the Paris Agreement High-Level Dialogue — marking the first time it was hosted outside Paris and Beijing.

It also co-founded a transnational cooperation platform on urban climate and health governance with the WHO. Furthermore, it was presented at COP30 — the 2025 UN climate summit in Brazil — to share China's county-level practices in green and low-carbon transformation with the global community.

Ruediger Krech, acting director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the WHO, called for enhanced global knowledge sharing and resource investment.

Maria Neira, former director of the same department, reflected on the history of the body's close collaboration with China.

She called for the Baoting project to become an international model of multi-sectoral cooperation, as well as for it to demonstrate that economic development and environmental protection could progress hand in hand.

Moving forwards, the consensus and action plan formed at the conference is expected to provide an innovative cooperation model for cities in the Global South to address the topic of climate change and achieve sustainable development.

Overall, it's seen as further fostering the advancement of a global community of health for all.