US Climate and Health Alliance

Natural and unnatural synergies: climate change policy and health equity

Abstract

Climate change and health inequities represent two of the greatest challenges to human development in the 21st century. As the Copenhagen summit on climate change planned for December 2009 approaches, there are opportunities to use the political momentum of climate change to promote health equity. The broad-ranging policies required to address climate change have both positive and negative implications for health and health equity.1,2 Similarly, interventions to reduce health gaps will not necessarily help stabilize the climate. Poorly designed policies could easily undermine both climate and health equity goals, and reduce public support for their implementation. This paper reviews the potential tensions between climate stabilization and improving health equity and discusses how these might be resolved.

Resource Type
Report
Author
World Health Organization (WHO)
Resource URL
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/10/09-067116/en/
Date
Sept 2, 2009
Organization Type
Other gov
Other
Climate action plans Climate communication/messaging Community engagement

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