The DNDi Board of Directors has approved a Climate and Environmental Roadmap that will cut DNDi’s global carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, from a baseline of 2019 emissions. The roadmap includes ambitious targets to reduce emissions from our R&D and treatment access activities, as well as from our offices and travel.
‘In parallel to developing and delivering new treatments for climate-sensitive diseases, we must do our part to reduce the carbon emissions from our operations so that we are not contributing to a crisis we are trying to solve,’ said Dr Luis Pizarro, Executive Director, DNDi. ‘It is once again the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations – the same communities affected by the neglected infectious diseases we develop treatments for – who are feeling the greatest impacts of our changing climate.’
Climate change threatens decades of progress in development, global health, and poverty reduction.
Over half of infectious diseases – including neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as dengue and leishmaniasis – are aggravated by climatic hazards, according to a 2022 study published by Nature.
The World Health Organization predicts at least 250,000 additional deaths per year from heat stress, malnutrition, dengue, malaria, and other vector-borne, climate-sensitive diseases between 2030 and 2050.
In response to the global crisis, DNDi has developed a four-pronged approach to climate, environment, and health:
- address the treatment needs of the world’s most vulnerable populations;
- advocate for innovation and investment for neglected patients in the global climate change response;
- reduce the environmental footprint of our operations; and
- work with partners to reduce the environmental impact of developing and manufacturing medicines.
To tackle the third and fourth elements of this approach, DNDi partnered with the Climate Action Accelerator (CAA) to assess our 2019 baseline emissions and develop the Climate and Environmental Roadmap. The roadmap outlines the steps we need to take to reduce the emissions we control, from our offices and travel, and the emissions we do not directly control, including from outsourced R&D and treatment access activities.
‘In partnering with CAA, we have committed to public transparency on our carbon emissions and our progress,’ said Mae Shieh, Head of Business Development and Decarbonization Roadmap Project Lead. ‘As we work closely with our many partners to find emission-reduction solutions, we will share our experiences and any new tools we develop to implement and monitor the roadmap. Success will be a collective effort.’
Read more in the DNDi Climate and Environmental Roadmap.
