August 2024 climate and health round-up
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Here’s what caught my eye this month.
Sustainable healthcare: Guiding principles for next-generation metrics
In the August edition of The Lancet Planetary Health, a team from the US and Germany put forward a personal view of healthcare sustainability metrics and how these could evolve.
They acknowledge the “good and necessary first step” of traditional sustainability metrics, which focus on quantifying energy use and emissions, and look ahead to the potential scope of the next generation of metrics. They highlight four areas for improvement: scope of emissions; scope of impacts; scope of performance; and scope of entities.
Call to action: Extreme heat
The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) has launched a joint call to action on extreme heat, on behalf of ten UN bodies.
It sets out multiple actions to be taken at a national level, organised within several themes: care for the vulnerable; protect workers; boost resilience of economies and societies using data and science; and limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
Collected research: Extreme temperatures
The UN call to action was launched just as new data were published showing the planet was breaking records for heat. This also coincided with the publication of a special edition of the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, which brought together recent research on the health impacts of extreme temperature.
Interesting studies in the collection cover: the impact of heat and cold on pregnancy in Australia; indoor overheating and older adults; heat at night; humidity; and regional-level sociodemographic factors influencing heat impacts in Europe.
Viewpoint: Preventing systems collapse through ‘low-tech’ care
This interesting article in the Journal of Global Health does not rule out high-tech solutions, but argues there is a need for other strategies, which the authors call ‘low-tech medicine’, to enable the continuation of care in the face of environmental challenges. Within low-tech medicine, they include public health and education, as well as shared decision-making and lifestyle interventions.
Funding: Decarbonising health and social care
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is opening a programme to fund research on decarbonising the health and social care system. The funding window will open in November, but in the meantime NIHR is running a series of webinars and workshops for people interested in applying. (Want me on your team? Get in touch!)
Call for evidence: Health and climate adaptation
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England are starting work on a fourth Health and Climate Adaptation Report. It will summarise the latest evidence on climate impacts affecting the health service and population health, and outline actions being taken to build resilience.
They have opened a ‘call for evidence’ and invite contributions from across the health sector by 27th September.
Interview: The green hospital
This interview originally appeared in the German-language Pneumologie journal and has been translated to English with permission. It features Dr Christian Grab of the Havelhöhe community hospital in Berlin, talking about the steps being taken to make it a ‘climate-friendly hospital’ by 2030.
Consultation events: WHO seeks health professionals’ views
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is hosting two online consultation events for health professionals.
The first is looking to ensure “the voices of the health community are heard and integrated into the Global Plan of Action on Climate Change and Health”. Don't hang about, it's happening today, 20th August, 3pm (UK).
The second is looking for input to the COP29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health. It is taking place on 4th September, 3pm (UK).
Webinar: Disability and climate change
The Sensing Climate team at the University of Exeter is hosting a series of online ‘in conversation’ events. The next event features Professor Gregor Wolbring of the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada.
Professor Wolbring was born without legs and uses a wheelchair. He published his first academic paper on climate change and disabled people in 2009 and has since published over 30 academic papers focusing on the environment and disabled people.
The online conversation will take place on Thursday 19th September, 4-5.30pm (UK).
Consultancy role: Policy advisor on climate and health
Have you previously worked on projects related to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is looking to recruit part-time policy advisors on climate and health to support country delegates. Apply by 31st August.
What else is catching my eye?
Here’s what I’m reading / where I’m headed next month (by train!) / what I’m listening to.