A joint editorial published across more than 200 prestigious medical and public health journals says the world cannot wait for the present pandemic to resolve before confronting a looming, and far worse, health challenge: irreversible climate change.

In a paper issued prior to the UN General Assembly, one of the last international meetings before the November climate talks in Glasgow, 19 authors warned human-caused climate change poses the chief threat to global public health.

The editorial urged world leaders to take emergency action to uphold the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, restore nature and keep global warming below the 1.5 degree Celsius tipping point.

They called on developed countries to fulfill their obligations and execute credible plans to meet them, and argued that greener, healthier and more just societies would reap health benefits, including greater resilience against diseases like COVID-19.