Advancing and Integrating Climate and Health Policies in Brazil

The report finds that climate and health policies in Brazil are currently poorly connected, though there is a growing movement toward integration. Stakeholders identify significant barriers, including political polarization, a lack of risk perception, and institutional silos. However, they see opportunities in the upcoming COP30, the wide reach of the Unified Health System (SUS), and Brazil's renewable energy strengths. Recommended strategies include improving scientific communication, adopting 'Planetary Health' and 'One Health' frameworks, and increasing intersectoral governance to create a more resilient national health and climate infrastructure.

• Stakeholders perceive that climate and health policies are currently little or not at all connected in Brazil's national policymaking, with a lack of coordination between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
• The Unified Health System (SUS) is viewed as a strategic national asset for implementing climate adaptation due to its wide coverage and decentralized structure across all municipalities.
• Brazil faces a significant lack of a 'risk culture,' where both the public and policymakers struggle to perceive the urgency and complexity of climate-related health threats until a disaster occurs.
• Political polarization, scientific denialism, and the influence of vested interests—particularly from the agribusiness and oil sectors—act as major barriers to integrating climate and health agendas.
• Institutional 'silos' and departmentalization within federal agencies hinder cross-cutting actions and lead to duplicated efforts or friction between ministries.
• The 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul and the historic drought in the Amazon are cited as critical opportunities to raise awareness and motivate the integration of health and climate policies.
• Hosting COP30 in Belém in 2025 is identified as a strategic window to expand the climate-health nexus and highlight structural issues like the lack of basic sanitation in the Amazon.
• Brazil's renewable energy matrix and potential in the bioeconomy and agroecology are seen as economic opportunities to link decarbonization with improved public health and job creation.
• There is a critical gap between scientific research and policymaking; data on climate-health links often fail to reach the political class or are not translated into normative policies.
• The report recommends adopting 'Planetary Health' and 'One Health' as guiding principles for a new governance model that integrates human, animal, and environmental health.
• Improving communication by framing climate change as a current public health emergency is suggested to make the crisis more tangible and increase social pressure on politicians.
• The health sector itself is identified as a greenhouse gas emitter, necessitating a review of the 'carbon footprint' of health services and waste management.

APA

Vianna, D., Zimermann, P., & Saraiva, A. M. (2025). Advancing and Integrating Climate and Health Policies in Brazil. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Wellcome-Trust_Brazil-Report_English.pdf

Chicago

Vianna, Daniela, Patricia Zimermann, and António Mauro Saraiva. Advancing and Integrating Climate and Health Policies in Brazil. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2025. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Wellcome-Trust_Brazil-Report_English.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vianna |first1=Daniela |last2=Zimermann |first2=Patricia |last3=Saraiva |first3=António Mauro |title=Advancing and Integrating Climate and Health Policies in Brazil |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=2025 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Wellcome-Trust_Brazil-Report_English.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vianna2025advancing, author = {Vianna, Daniela and Zimermann, Patricia and Saraiva, António Mauro}, title = {{Advancing and Integrating Climate and Health Policies in Brazil}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2025}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Wellcome-Trust_Brazil-Report_English.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }