Communicating on climate change and health Toolkit for health professionals

The document argues that climate change is the biggest health threat of the 21st century and that health professionals are uniquely positioned as trusted voices to build public support for climate action. It provides a framework for communicating these risks and benefits, emphasizing simple, human-centric messaging over technical jargon or alarmist language. The toolkit outlines specific health risks—such as air pollution, heatwaves, and food insecurity—and highlights the 'win-win' nature of climate solutions, noting that every dollar spent on reducing emissions saves approximately $2 in health costs.

• Climate change is identified as the most significant health threat of the 21st century, impacting health both directly through extreme weather and air pollution, and indirectly by affecting social and environmental determinants like nutrition and healthcare access.
• Health professionals are highly trusted community voices who can effectively build public support for climate solutions by framing climate change as a health issue rather than an environmental one.
• Implementing climate solutions provides substantial health co-benefits, including improved air quality, increased physical activity, and reduced urban heat effects; financially, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is estimated to save approximately $2 in health costs for every dollar spent.
• Certain populations are more susceptible to the harms of climate change, including elderly people, infants, children, Indigenous Peoples, people in coastal areas, pregnant women, smallholder farmers, those with pre-existing conditions, and people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage.
• Effective climate-health communication should avoid jargon and polarizing 'doom and despair' language, which can paralyze or alienate audiences, and instead focus on simple, repeated messages and personal storytelling.
• The health sector contributes approximately 5% of global emissions, and shifting health systems to clean energy can improve their capacity to manage disruptions from pandemics and extreme weather.

APA

Center for Climate Change Communication (n.d.). Communicating on climate change and health Toolkit for health professionals. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/9789240090224-eng.pdf

Chicago

Center for Climate Change Communication. Communicating on climate change and health Toolkit for health professionals. n.d. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/9789240090224-eng.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Change Communication |title=Communicating on climate change and health Toolkit for health professionals |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/9789240090224-eng.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforclimatechangecommunicationndcommunicating, author = {{Center for Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Communicating on climate change and health Toolkit for health professionals}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/9789240090224-eng.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }