Intersections between climate change and antimicrobial resistance: a systematic scoping review

Abstract

Climate change and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) present crucial challenges for the health and wellbeing of people, animals, plants, and ecosystems worldwide, yet the two are largely treated as separate and unrelated challenges. The aim of this systematic scoping Review is to understand the nature of the growing evidence base linking AMR and climate change and to identify knowledge gaps and areas for further research. We conducted a systematic search of the peer-reviewed literature in Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed on 27 June, 2022. Our search strategy identified and screened 1687 unique results. Data were extracted and analysed from 574 records meeting our inclusion criteria. 222 (39%) of these reviewed articles discussed harmful synergies in which both climate change and AMR exist independently and can interact synergistically, resulting in negative outcomes. Just over a quarter (n=163; 28%) of the literature contained general or broad references to AMR and climate change, whereas a fifth (n=111; 19%) of articles referred to climate change influencing the emergence and evolution of AMR. 12% of articles (n=70) presented positive synergies between approaches aimed at addressing climate change and interventions targeting the management and control of AMR. The remaining literature focused on the shared drivers of AMR and climate change, the trade-offs between climate actions that have unanticipated negative outcomes for AMR (or vice versa), and, finally, the pathways through which AMR can negatively influence climate change. Our findings indicate multiple intersections through which climate change and AMR can and do connect. Research in this area is still nascent, disciplinarily isolated, and only beginning to converge, with few documents primarily focused on the equal intersection of both topics. Greater empirical and evidence-based attention is needed to investigate knowledge gaps related to specific climate change hazards and antimicrobial resistant fungi, helminths, protists, and viruses.