A CIVIL SOCIETY EVENT ON ACTION IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH

This executive summary details a civil society event held on September 22, 2014, in New York, which brought together global health leaders to discuss the intersection of climate change and public health. The event focused on how health-centric decision-making can drive mitigation efforts across the agriculture, transportation, and energy sectors to improve human well-being and sustainable development.

• The event identified several public health impacts of climate change across non-health sectors, including the role of temperature rises in increasing vector and water-borne diseases, as well as the contribution of greenhouse gas emissions to food insecurity and carbon-intensive diets. Other highlighted health risks include malnutrition, rising obesity rates, chronic diseases, and physical inactivity caused by a lack of infrastructure for walking and biking in congested cities.
• Regarding agriculture and nutrition, presenters advocated for a 'systems-thinking' approach to the climate-agriculture-health relationship. Recommendations include financing interdisciplinary research to improve crop yields and sustainable practices, and creating career pathways that allow professionals to work across both agriculture and health sectors to protect the ability of rural communities, women, and children to feed themselves.
• In the area of urban design and transportation, the event called for a paradigm shift in land use and transportation policies to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and create low-carbon environments. Specific recommendations for the U.S. include advocating for changes to zoning laws to support higher density and mixed-use development, while globally calling for shifted funding toward public transit and biking/walking pathways.
• The discussion on energy focused on the health benefits of cleaner air and the need to move away from fossil fuel dependency. Panelists recommended that the health care sector lead by example by disinvesting from fossil fuels, minimizing its own carbon footprint through green-building practices, and lobbying governments to stop investing in new coal-powered plants.
• Health professionals are identified as uniquely influential messengers for climate action because they are trusted by society and policymakers. The event concluded that framing the climate crisis in terms of health and well-being can help policymakers bypass the complexities of climate science and skepticism by providing a 'human face' to the problem.
• The event highlighted the importance of international policy frameworks, suggesting that the Climate Change Framework, Sustainable Development Goals, and the UN Habitat Conference should be used to make health an overarching goal. Additionally, the document supports Micronesia’s amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs to benefit small island nations.

APA

Global Climate and Health Alliance (2014). A CIVIL SOCIETY EVENT ON ACTION IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/exec-summary-report-on-civil-society-event-final.pdf

Chicago

Global Climate and Health Alliance. A CIVIL SOCIETY EVENT ON ACTION IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH. 2014. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/exec-summary-report-on-civil-society-event-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Climate and Health Alliance |title=A CIVIL SOCIETY EVENT ON ACTION IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH |date=22 September 2014 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/exec-summary-report-on-civil-society-event-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalclimateandhealthalliance2014civil, author = {{Global Climate and Health Alliance}}, title = {{A CIVIL SOCIETY EVENT ON ACTION IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2014}, month = sep, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/exec-summary-report-on-civil-society-event-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }