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Climate change is projected to significantly increase health costs and mortality in Canada, with tropospheric ozone and heatwaves posing the most substantial financial and human burdens. The report highlights that these impacts will disproportionately affect vulnerable populations due to systemic inequalities like poverty and racism. It warns that Canada's health systems are currently under-prepared, with minimal federal funding dedicated to health adaptation since 2017. The document recommends a dual approach to adaptation: treating immediate symptoms (e.g., emergency alerts) and addressing root causes of vulnerability (e.g., food and water insecurity).

The document outlines how climate change acts as a public health threat in Canada, increasing healthcare costs and deaths. It highlights that vulnerability is driven by social determinants—exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity—and argues that governments must invest in both emergency response and the reduction of underlying social inequalities to mitigate these risks.

Climate change poses a significant threat to public health in Canada, with costs expected to increase as impacts intensify. Vulnerability is driven by social determinants—exposure, sensitivity, and capacity to adapt—meaning the impacts will not be felt equally across the population. Projected annual costs by the end of the century vary by emissions scenario, with heat-related productivity losses and deaths representing major financial burdens. Effective adaptation requires both treating immediate symptoms through emergency response and addressing root causes like economic inequity and food insecurity.

The report identifies ground-level ozone, heat waves, and Lyme disease as significant health threats in Canada, with ozone-related societal costs potentially reaching $250 billion per year by the end of the century. It emphasizes that climate change will exacerbate existing health inequities driven by poverty and racism, and warns that current federal funding for health adaptation is inadequate, representing only about 0.3 per cent of total federal climate change program funding.

Human-caused warming increases atmospheric thirst, leading to higher evaporation and transpiration, which worsens droughts globally and specifically in the western U.S. In the southwestern U.S., the 2000-2021 megadrought was the most severe in 1,200 years, with over 40% of its severity attributed to climate change. The western U.S. faces increasing risks of hydrological drought from declining snowpack and compound events involving heat, drought, and wildfires, which caused over $38 billion in damages during 2020-2021.

The document details how rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves in the U.S. disproportionately affect children's health and development. It highlights physiological vulnerabilities, the impact of urban heat islands on marginalized communities, and provides guidance for caregivers to mitigate heat-related illnesses.

The report identifies significant gaps in expertise, funding, and priority within the U.S. public health system regarding climate change. While most local health directors recognize climate change as a threat, few prioritize it in their departmental planning. The authors recommend a three-pronged approach: protecting public health through system efficacy, preventing dangers by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and enhancing health through 'win-win' policy alignment.

A 2013 survey of 800 Californians reveals high levels of belief in global warming (79%) and its human cause (58%), with significant concern for its impact on the state's wildfires, heat waves, and droughts. While there is strong support for clean energy and government action, many residents remain uncertain about humanity's collective ability to successfully reduce global warming.

The report finds that while a majority of Ohioans believe global warming is happening and support clean energy transitions, there is significant uncertainty regarding scientific consensus and the likelihood of successful collective action. A large portion of the population perceives increased flooding and heat waves in the state and believes that corporations, citizens, and government officials should all do more to address the issue.

The report finds that while 70% of Texans believe global warming is happening, there is significant uncertainty regarding its causes and the level of scientific consensus. A majority of Texans support clean energy transitions and believe the U.S. should reduce emissions regardless of other countries' actions, though they often view global warming as a greater threat to others than to themselves personally.

The report finds that while 70% of Columbus residents believe global warming is happening and many are worried about it, there is significant uncertainty regarding scientific consensus and personal experience with its effects. A majority support clean energy transitions and believe the U.S. should reduce emissions regardless of other countries' actions, though they remain skeptical about humanity's collective will to successfully reduce global warming.

A 2013 survey of 700 San Francisco adults reveals high levels of belief in human-caused global warming (67%) and significant concern for its impacts. While residents expect severe future effects, including the potential abandonment of parts of the city due to sea level rise (66%), they are uncertain if humanity will successfully reduce warming. There is strong support for clean energy transitions and a preference for the U.S. to reduce emissions regardless of other countries' actions.

The document details the process and outcomes of the City of Cape Town's initial attempt to analyze its 10-year capital portfolio for climate resilience. It identifies eight key lessons, emphasizing the need for consolidated databases, a focus on climate-related shocks, and the development of project typologies. The analysis revealed significant under-tagging of resilience projects by project managers, particularly in the Human Settlements directorate, and highlights the importance of secondary resilience benefits from primary mandates. The report concludes with a roadmap to mature the resilience assessment process by 2025.

The document highlights a gap between official health statistics and the lived experience of extreme heat in Mexico City, where symptoms like dehydration and dizziness are prevalent despite a lack of official heatstroke death records. It emphasizes that green areas are vital for thermal buffering but are unevenly distributed, with Iztapalapa having significantly fewer green areas per inhabitant than Benito Juárez. The brief advocates for a transdisciplinary approach combining citizen mapping and climate science to improve intersectoral coordination between health and environmental sectors for preventive heat governance.

The project identifies that older adults in the City of Buenos Aires are disproportionately vulnerable to extreme heat, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods where infrastructure limitations and power outages reduce coping capacity. Through 634 surveys, focus groups, and geospatial mapping of heat and population density, the project developed an early response pilot plan with differentiated measures for formal and vulnerable urban areas. Key findings highlight a gap between knowledge and practice regarding preventive measures and the critical role of community networks in coping with heat.

The project addresses the differential vulnerability of older adults to extreme heat in the City of Buenos Aires, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods where infrastructure limitations and power outages hinder coping capacities. Through 634 surveys, focus groups, and the creation of heat and vulnerability maps, the project developed a pilot early response plan with differentiated measures for formal city areas and vulnerable neighborhoods. Key findings highlight a gap between knowledge of preventive measures and their actual practice, the critical role of community networks, and the need for territory-specific strategies due to non-homogeneous impacts of heat.

The document outlines twelve projects (SG-CEH-01 to SG-CEH-12) focused on the climate-environment-health nexus. Key research areas include the expansion of dengue and diarrheal diseases in Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and Cuba; the impact of extreme heat on older adults and urban populations in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Chile; and the effects of climate change on nutrition and agroecology in Bolivia and Uruguay. The projects emphasize the need for intersectoral coordination, community participation, and the integration of climate data into public health surveillance and urban planning to build resilience against climate-driven health risks.

The document estimates that smog cost Canadians $36 billion in 2015, contributing to a total pollution cost of at least $39 billion that year, which equates to approximately $4,300 per family of four. It also notes that heat waves related to climate change cost $1.6 billion in 2015 and that the federal government spent an average of $238 million annually between 2005/06 and 2014/15 managing contaminated sites such as former mines, factories, and gas stations.

The Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly identifies coastal erosion, flash floods, windstorms, erratic rainfall, droughts, and heat waves as its main climate hazards. Key sensitive sectors include agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, tourism, and water/health. Proposed adaptation measures focus on coastal protection, enforcing building codes and mining laws, nature-based solutions like mangrove planting, and improving early warning systems and irrigation.

The document details the environmental and economic damages in California resulting from climate change, focusing on sea level rise, drought, public health risks, wildfires, and ecosystem decline.