PD 19 - Climate Change and Health

Impacts of climate change on human health have begun to attract greater attention. However, there is much still to be done to use the current evidence base to inform policy development broadly across sectors, and to fill gaps in the knowledge base by new research. Pathways of health effects are complex with many factors interacting, and climate change will intersect with other major trajectories e.g. in urbanization, population ageing and human behavioral change.

Academies of science worldwide have significant interest in the issues for understanding and addressing the impacts of climate change. Recently, the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) completed a report analyzing evidence on climate change and health in Europe: covering both direct and indirect risks in terms of hazards, exposure and vulnerabilities. Project work clarifying options for adaptation and mitigation and the implications for overcoming barriers to implementation led to a range of recommendations for generating and using science to guide policy and practice.

This World Health Summit session will discuss key points relating to the impacts of climate change for health, stimulated by this recent work with particular regard to identifying policy needs and actions and to extending academies’ analysis worldwide.