PHILADELPHIA, PA, December 16, 2025

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On November 18, 2025, Ana Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH—Co-Principal Investigator of the SALURBAL-Climate Project and Director of the Urban Health Collaborative at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health—was in Belém, Brazil to participate in this year’s United Nations Climate Conference (COP30). At a side event held within the Health Pavilion, Dr. Diez Roux presented evidence on the city-level impacts of climate change on public health and formally launched the SALURBAL Portal, a new interactive dashboard and online resource which share data and findings from nearly 400 cities across Latin America.

The event took place as part of COP30, the 30th Conference of the Parties, the annual convening of signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Dr. Diez Roux’s presentation was held within the Blue Zone at the Health Pavilion, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Wellcome Trust. 

The Blue Zone hosted 42,618 in-person attendees from more than 190 countries, with access limited to official delegations, heads of state, accredited observers, and media. SALURBAL’s proposal was selected for inclusion within the Health Pavilion by WHO and Wellcome Trust, and Dr. Diez Roux was able to participate as a representative of Drexel University, which has observer status. 

Throughout the year, Dr. Diez Roux and the SALURBAL-Climate team took part in preparatory sessions to support the integration of public health research into climate negotiations. “It was both sobering and energizing to participate in COP30,” said Diez Roux. “We are facing a critical global challenge, and powerful interests often oppose meaningful change. At the same time, it was powerful to see scientists, governments, and grassroots advocacy groups—including local communities—come together.”

Photo from UNFCCC/Kiara Worth

Despite challenging central negotiations, which saw delays in concrete commitments to phase out fossil fuels, COP30 delivered important advances for the health sector. A key outcome was the Belém Health Action Plan for the Adaptation of the Health Sector to Climate Change. This plan outlines steps to strengthen the health sector’s adaptation and resilience by advancing integrated surveillance, accelerating capacity-strengthening, and promoting evidence-based policy implementation. 

To support the plan’s implementation, a commitment of $300 million was announced for solutions and research to address the health impacts of climate change. The fund was created by the Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ikea Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and other partners. Further details on how these funds will be distributed are expected in 2026.

Introducing the SALURBAL Portal

Cities around the world need local evidence to inform planning and advocate for investment in climate action. Since 2017, SALURBAL’s team has worked to compile and harmonize an extensive data resource incorporating over 1,300 variables on urban environments, climate exposures, and health outcomes across cities in Latin America. This resource and SALURBAL’s research on the connections between urban environments, climate, and health, cover 371 cities in 11 countries.

The SALURBAL Portal, introduced at COP30, seeks to make public health evidence accessible to support policy and decision-making processes. The Portal features a data catalog, city profiles, and a complete catalog of SALURBAL’s open-access products, representing over 10 years of research and policy engagement activities. This public resource provides accessible context, explanations, and interactive tools to support the accurate interpretation of data and to help apply urban health research to policy and planning.

Specifically, SALURBAL’s City Profiles offer an interactive dashboard that enables users to explore key metrics for each of SALURBAL’s 371 cities. These metrics cover numerous domains,  which include:

Building on the City Profiles, SALURBAL’s City Comparison tool allows users to compare values between cities or groups of cities, with the option to select individual cities for comparison or to view cities by country, region, climate zone, or population size. This tool and similar resources can support long-term efforts to identify disparities across cities, analyze potential drivers of vulnerability, and explore available metrics for assessing the health impacts of urban policies over time. In this way, SALURBAL’s resource aligns with the Belém Action Plan’s second line: “Evidence-based policies, strategies, and capacity building.”

“We wanted to launch a complete redesign of the SALURBAL portal with several data tools that we hope are of use for a diverse set of stakeholders, and that continue to evolve in response in local priorities and needs." Usama Bilal, SALURBAL-Climate Researcher and UHC Co-Director, comments: "These products wouldn't be possible without the team that actually built this platform, including a software engineer and communications and policy specialists, who have put their heart and soul into this product."

SALURBAL-Climate is financed by the Wellcome Trust 227810/Z/23/Z

Contact: Carolina Rendón, Communications Specialist - cr3283@drexel.edu