Climate change is a health emergency. The scientific evidence is unequivocal in confirming climate change to be a threat to human wellbeing and it is recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the greatest threat to health of the 21st century.
Public health professionals have a crucial role in leading and scaling up action to tackle this emergency, focussing attention on the health impacts of climate change and the co-benefits of improving health, as well as adaptation to prevent health harms.
A key part of the Faculty’s Climate and Health strategy is to ensure that all public health professionals engage with climate and health and that they have the knowledge, skills and capability to work on mitigation and adaptation to the climate emergency and environmental breakdown.
Our aim to be a credible and respected voice on climate, environment and health impacts, inspiring the public health workforce to lead on strategies to protect the health and wellbeing of current and future generations.
This report summarises work led by the Faculty of Public Health exploring what UK public health organisations are doing on the climate and ecological crisis, to understand gaps in action, understand what is needed for a climate resilient health system, and to identify opportunities for organisations to work together effectively to maximise impact.
The third of FPH's distinguished lectures focussing on the future of public health took place on 15 March 2024 with Dr Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Dr Neira was joined by a distinguished panel to discuss this pre-eminent public health issue, including:
Climate change is a public health emergency. It is the single biggest threat to global health, peace, and security, a crisis multiplier, and a significant driver of health inequalities. Human right-based approaches are essential for good public health policies and practice, including action to address climate change.
This webinar took place on 20 February 2024 and was the first in a series offered by the UK Faculty of Public Health, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Global Network for Academic Public Health (GNAPH), Groningen Centre for Health Law (GCHL), European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and other partners to build understanding, competence, and capacity on human rights-based approaches for good public health policy and practice.
Following from COP28, FPH brought together public health colleagues to discuss and debrief on the Conference and think through what is next for public health action on climate and health.
Watch the recording of this event and hear from Professor Lea Berrang Ford, Head of the Centre for Climate and Health Security, UKHSA, and Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Pakistan’s former Minister of Climate Change, followed by a panel of public health professionals working in the UK.
The Faculty and other cross-sector partners have recently publish a report, acknowledging that scientists and public health professionals have often been at the forefront of generating evidence and monitoring the effects of the climate emergency, and highlighting some successful examples of public health and climate change litigation in the UK and overseas.
The Faculty of Public Health’s advocacy and policy function is managed through a number of committees of Faculty members and the Climate and Health Committee is uniquely well placed to lead policy discussion and formulation in this area.
Committee Chair: Paul Johnstone
Committee Vice-Chair: Eleanor Roaf
To contact the committee, email GeorgiaHarris@fph.org.uk.
Sustainable Development Special Interest Group
The Sustainable Development Special Interest Group (SIG) has been established to drive forward strategic action to embed the principles of sustainable development into all FPH does and stands for, in order to create a healthy, equitable and sustainable future.
The SIG reports to FPH’s Climate and Health Committee. To get involved, please contact the co-chairs Anya Gopfert (anya.gopfert1@nhs.net) or Maria van Hove (maria.van-hove@nhs.net).
FPH is the professional home for public health in the UK and abroad. We support over 5,000 members across all career stages enabling them to drive the profession forward and achieve our vision of improving public health.
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