Coming Together for Climate and Health: Proceedings of the Second Annual Clinical Climate Change Meeting, January 24, 2020

Abstract

Climate change is imposing increasingly severe impacts on public health. Addressing these impacts requires heightened awareness of climate-driven health conditions and appropriate clinical practices to manage these conditions. Within this context, the 2^nd Annual Clinical Climate Change Conference, held January 24, 2020 at the New York Academy of Medicine, brought together more than 150 allied health practitioners from across the United States for a one-day conference showcasing the state of the science on the climate and health. Eight platform presentations—including a keynote address from Karenna Gore of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary—covered a range of environmentally induced, climate-related disease areas as well as topics related to environmental justice. Additionally, key workshops engaged participants in the clinical management of climate-related health conditions. Communicating the existing evidence base for climate change-driven impacts on human health is crucial for preparing practitioners to identify and address these impacts. Further partnership between researchers and practitioners to extend and disseminate this evidence base will yield important advancements toward protecting patients and improving health outcomes in an era of climate crisis.

Figure 1:

Climate change influences myriad health outcomes through multiple pathways. Rising temperatures, more extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increasing carbon dioxide levels have both direct effects on health and indirect effects through affecting other environmental factors (water and food security and quality, pollution) that affect health. From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Figure 2:

The U.S. has achieved some progress in emission reduction for six common pollutants, but work remains to be done for reducing CO₂ emissions. From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.