1.D. Scientific session: Progress in assessing and response to impacts from climate change and implications for public health
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The European Union climate adaptation strategy sets out the pathway to become climate resilient by 2050 and supports the development of adaptation strategies across governance levels from local, national to international. Most European countries have now published climate change risk assessments (CCRA), Health Impact Assessments (HIA), Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments (V&A), or other evidence reviews that provide the underlying scientific evidence to support their national adaptation policies that have important implications for public health policy and practice. The Health Protection Research Unit in Climate and Health Security (HPRU), funded by the National Institute of Health Research, provides multi-disciplinary research to support decision-making relating to the impacts and responses to environmental changes that affect human health and well-being in the UK and beyond. This is a collaboration between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Health Security Agency, University College London and the Met Office. The HPRU supports UKHSA climate and health strategic priorities through research and knowledge mobilisation to provide evidence for outputs such as the Adverse Weather and Health Plan and the Health Effects of Climate Change report. Furthermore, HPRU evidence feeds into the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. This workshop will focus firstly on the assessment of climate risks in the UK and Europe to understand what methods are used to quantify the health risks, with a focus on food systems and food security. We present results from a national survey and semi-structured interviews to investigate how flooding and drought affect the mental health and wellbeing of farmers and farmworkers in England. We review and synthesise published literature on potable water supply disruptions and their public health impacts in high income settings. Furthermore, we provide a commentary and discussion on the uses of artificial intelligence to assess the feasibility of predicting individual risk of death during heat events based on primary care data. A key focus of this workshop is to highlight the current evidence on who is the most impacted by climate change and ensuring that climate and health adaptation is equitable and fair. The workshop aims to support evidence translation for climate action that prioritises health protection and equity. The workshop will comprise 5 oral presentations and we will then open the floor to have a wider facilitated discussion about what are the evidence needs for UK and European policy to further address climate risks to health. Key messages • Assessing the risks from climate change and adverse weather on mental and physical health is critical to support policy and practice and inform adaptation planning in the longer term. • Reducing the health impacts of climate change and adverse weather requires evidence based on who is most impacts to ensure acceptability and fair adaptation.
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,181
OpenAlex ID: W7101382034
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