A/78/167 of extreme weather events, adaptation can help to reduce the severity of disasters by building more climate-resilient preparedness and response infrastructure, such as early warning systems. In terms of health, climate impacts not only lead to deteriorating access to and quality of health services but also increase the cost of providing health care, as the health of populations worsens year on year. 69 Adaptation is crucial to ensuring that the capacity of health systems to manage and protect the health of populations around the world is preserved. In the labour market, climate adaptation can prevent job losses and stimulate new employment opportunities. Education systems must also be adapted to climate-related impacts. Climate change education is critical to ensure that all persons are knowledgeable about current and future climate-related impacts and can take steps to ensure their safety and the safety of their families. Persons with albinism must be included in all climate change adaptation efforts. 55. Climate change mitigation and loss and damage are also important elements of climate action. Climate change mitigation is a concept related to adaptation that refers to the efforts made to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere in order to slow down the pace of climate change. While adaptation seeks to prepare for and cope with the changes that are already happening now or are expected to happen in the future, mitigation aims to prevent further harm to the planet. By 2030, the unavoidable economic losses owing to climate change are projected to reach at least $290 billion, 70 and discussions concerning loss and damage have been held at the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (see document FCCC/PA/CMA/2022/10/Add.1, decision 2/CMA.4). It is crucial that all climate action, including that focused on climate change mitigation and loss and damage, is inclusive of persons with albinism and responsive to their needs. 56. Persons with albinism, like persons with disabilities more broadly, are frequently excluded from climate action taken at the local and national levels. The Expert received several reports from organizations of persons with albinism in whic h it was stated that persons with albinism are frequently not consulted in local and national climate action and decision-making by Governments. While many persons with albinism are aware of the changing environment around them in terms of their lived experience, knowledge about climate change more broadly is poor, including about how persons with albinism can support climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts. 57. The Expert did not receive any information confirming that specific groups of persons with albinism have participated in climate discussions at the international level, including at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. To date at Conferences of the Parties, the rights of persons with albinism have been included in discussions on the rights of persons with disabilities more broadly. However, the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of climate change have received minimal attention at those Conferences, where there is currently no formally recognized and specific constituency 71 for persons with disabilities. Persons with albinism, like persons with disabilities more broadly, are also affected by several barriers that reduce their likelihood of being able to participate in Conferences of the Parties or other meetings held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change policy cycle. These barriers __________________ 69 70 71 23-13701 WHO, Operational Framework for Building Climate Resilient Health Systems (Geneva, 2015). Tracy Carty and Lyndsay Walsh, Footing the bill: fair finance for loss and damage in an era of escalating climate impacts, Oxfam Briefing Paper (Oxford, Oxfam International, June 20 22). In the context of the Conference of the Parties, a constituency is a group of organizations that share similar interests and concerns regarding the impacts of climate change and are working together to address the issue. There are currently nine constituencies, including groups representing Indigenous Peoples, young people, women and environmental organizations. 17/23