ASPHER supports the development of climate-health education and capacity-building for the public health workforce to be key advocates and actors of climate mitigation & adaptation to improve climate change and public health interventions.

ASPHER has convened a Climate-Health Education Working Group to facilitate relevant networking and support for the Climate-Health Agenda. If you wish to participate, please email ASPHER Climate-Health Fellows Tara Chen (tara.chen@aspher.org) and Rana Orhan (rana.orhan@aspher.org).

Activities

1. ASPHER’s Climate and Health Education in Europe Thematic Network (EU Health Policy Platform)

Thematic Networks are temporary networks of stakeholder organisations created in the EU Health Policy Platform. Their purpose is to prepare stakeholder-led and –owned Joint Statements on important EU health issues, summarising the common position of the co-signing organisations.

ASPHER’s proposal to lead “Climate Action through public health education and training” was successfully selected among the top three proposals to become the Thematic Networks of 2021. Throughout the year, the thematic network worked to produce a one-voice joint statement of European Stakeholders (with over 80 endorsements). The joint statement has been the first successful attempt to involve the stakeholder community around this topic with the aim at creating synergy with existing policies.

The final version of the Joint Statement “Moving towards the right to ‘health for all’ by training the public health and wider health workforce on climate change and health” was presented on May 5^th, 2022 at the EU Health Policy Platform to the European Commission, DG SANTE, DG CLIMA, and the European Environment Agency.

At this time, the thematic network has shifted to an Exchange Network. You can join us at any time to network with others in the network by registering through the EU Health Policy Platform.

2.       ASPHER’s Climate and Health Competencies for Public Health Professionals in Europe (2021)

Upcoming Events/Presentations/Courses

• Faculty of Public Health- Climate & Health Conference. Online, Virtual (FREE event). Register here.
• The Global Climate & Health Alliance- Webinar | Strategic Communications in Advance of COP27. September TBD. Register here.
• 2022 Planetary Health Annual Meeting. Hybrid. Oct 31- Nov 2, 2022 Registration here.
• Short-Term Climate Change & Public Health Course , Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Additional Resources

• Climate Change and Health: A Public Health Education Toolkit, ASPPH
• Climate Resources for Health Education - https://climatehealthed.org/
• Our World in Data CO₂ and GHG Emissions Database
• The Lancet Countdown, Health and Climate Change Data Explorer
• Interesting Readings
  • Cooke, E., Cussans, A., Clack, A., Cornford, C. (2022). Climate change and health scorecard: What are UK professional and regulatory health organizations doing to tackle the climate and ecological emergency? The Journal of Climate Change and Health 8, 100164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2022.100164
  • The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01787-6

• Climate-Health Education YouTube Videos (Short Clips)
  • How Scientists measure Carbon Dioxide in the Air (2:24 min)
  • Studying Ancient Ice|Science Nation (2:32 min)
  • The Greenland Ice Sheet | A Waking Giant (4:32 min)
  • Planetary Management: Measuring Economic Damages of Climate Change (5:43 min)
  • Social Cost of Carbon (4:56 min)
  • How the Climate Crisis is Reshaping the Future of Work (start at 13:06)
  • Environmental Justice (3:50 min)
  • Understanding Carbon Tax (3:02 min) 

• Podcasts
  • Greening Defense
  • Living Planet (Deusche Welle)