THE HEALTH COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

The Canadian Climate Institute recommends that all levels of government implement health adaptation policies addressing both the symptoms and root causes of climate-related health threats. Key proposals include mapping policy levers within a national adaptation strategy, incorporating health resilience into government cost-benefit analyses, and investing in research on emerging and local health impacts, such as mental health and wildfire-related respiratory issues.

• Governments should adopt a dual approach to health adaptation that addresses both the immediate symptoms of climate impacts—such as improving heat and air quality warnings—and the underlying root causes of vulnerability and exposure.
• The Government of Canada's national adaptation strategy should map policy levers across different government orders and explicitly recognize the decentralized nature of health resilience building, coordinating with provincial, territorial, Indigenous, and local partners.
• Federal, provincial, and territorial central agencies should integrate health resilience into 'climate lenses' to guide policy decisions and cost-benefit analyses, with a specific focus on how costs and benefits are distributed among disadvantaged groups.
• There is a need for increased investment in research regarding broad and local climate health risks, including mental health, the impact of wildfire regimes on respiratory health, the vulnerability of health systems, and the effects of ecosystem change.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (n.d.). THE HEALTH COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ClimateChoices_HeatlhCosts_Recommendations.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. THE HEALTH COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. n.d. https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ClimateChoices_HeatlhCosts_Recommendations.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=THE HEALTH COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE |url=https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ClimateChoices_HeatlhCosts_Recommendations.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitutendhealth, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{THE HEALTH COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, url = {https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ClimateChoices_HeatlhCosts_Recommendations.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }