From advocacy to action: Projecting the health impacts of climate change

Abstract

Mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions has many health co-benefits and is a top public health priority. Policies to limit emissions are associated with improvements across a wide range of public health outcomes, including, among other impacts, obesity, acute respiratory infections among children, and ischaemic heart disease in adults However, recognition that climate change is already underway has led to an increasing focus on adaptation. Studies projecting the impacts of future climate change on health date back to the late 1980s, and their number has grown substantially in recent years. Climate change impact assessments generally use the output of global climate models (GCMs). Here, we profile, and suggest means for addressing, the challenges associated with the use of GCM projections for impact studies to inform adaptation.