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Climate Change

Climate change threatens the basic elements of life such as access to food, water, shelter and clean air, in turn severely impacting human health. The complex interlinkages between climate change and health include temperature-related illness and death, flood-related injuries and death, air pollution in the form of spores and moulds, increase in water and food-borne diseases and vector-borne and rodent-borne diseases, and food and water shortages. Whilst mitigation and adaptation policies are urgently needed to both avoid dangerous climate change and prepare for the changes we are already committed to, only joined-up policy-making placing health at the heart of climate change policy will ensure win-win approaches that improve health and quality of life for both present and future generations.

The European Commission has already taken preliminary steps to address the links between health and climate change. Under the European Climate Change Programme (ECCPII) a working group on impacts and adaptation was set up, which produced a “Human health sectoral report”.

The Commission has also adopted its first policy document on adapting to climate change: a Green Paper entitled, “Adapting to climate change in Europe - options for EU action”. The Green Paper, which highlights the health impacts of climate change, was accompanied by a public consultation on climate change and adaptation. It is foreseen that responses to this consultation will culminate in the publication of a Communication on adaptation to climate change by the end of 2008 (art2602).

Nevertheless, despite such promising initiatives there remains a lack of awareness and understanding surrounding climate change and health issues.

For these reasons the Health and Environment Alliance strives to increase understanding and advocacy on climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and measures, and ensure that responses to climate change incorporate health protection as a key component. HEAL supports policies focusing on the most vulnerable groups and hopes to raise awareness of win-win-win scenarios for public health, adaptation and mitigation strategies.

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