A CIVIL SOCIETY EVENT ON ACTION IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH

The event highlighted how climate change negatively impacts health through food insecurity, physical inactivity, and air pollution, while arguing that focusing on health co-benefits can overcome political inertia. Key recommendations include transitioning to sustainable diets, redesigning cities for active transportation, and divesting the healthcare sector from fossil fuels.

• Climate change negatively impacts public health through several drivers, including temperature rises that increase water-borne and vector diseases, greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to food insecurity and carbon-intensive diets, and a lack of urban infrastructure for biking and walking.
• To improve food and nutrition security, the event recommends a 'systems-thinking' approach to the relationship between climate, agriculture, and health, emphasizing the need for culturally sensitive healthy diets and interdisciplinary research to improve crop yields and sustainable practices.
• A paradigm shift in urban planning and transportation is required to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and create low-carbon environments. Recommendations include shifting funding toward public transit and biking/walking paths, and in the United States, changing zoning laws to support higher density and mixed-use development.
• The healthcare sector is urged to lead by example in the energy transition by divesting from fossil fuels, minimizing its own carbon footprint through green-building practices, and lobbying governments to end fossil fuel subsidies.
• Health professionals are identified as uniquely influential messengers who can combat climate skepticism and political inertia because society and policymakers trust their messaging regarding personal and public health.
• The document advocates for specific international policy actions, including supporting an amendment by Micronesia to the Montreal Protocol to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to protect 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} }