Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-15-2009

Abstract

As the international community negotiates a successor to the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), there is new reason to hope that meaningful action might be taken to prevent devastating climate change. Even the more ambitious mitigation targets currently under negotiation, however, will not be sufficient to avoid a profound effect on the public's health in coming decades, with the world's poorest, most vulnerable populations bearing the disproportionate burden. The influence of historic and current emissions will be so substantial that it is imperative to reduce global emissions while at the same time preparing for the effects. Recently, the UNFCCC has begun to turn its attention to adaptation—changes to human systems to ameliorate the consequences of climate change. This Commentary proposes a new agenda for mitigation as well as adaptation approaches that emphasize the considerable health effects of climate change, which include increasingly intense and more frequent natural disasters, potential increases in vector-, food-, and water-borne infectious disease, and exacerbation of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. The effects of climate change will be experienced in every region but will disproportionately burden the global poor, exacerbating global health disparities and challenging the international community to address the inevitable questions of global social justice. Three key recommendations are proposed: (1) focus mitigation targets on broader health impacts, rather than framing climate change as a coastal issue; (2) incorporate land-use and agricultural approaches to mitigation alongside measures in the energy and transportation sectors to take advantage of co-benefits for health; and (3) fully fund adaptation projects as a global priority with an emphasis on strengthening health systems.

Publication Citation

302 JAMA 1218-1220 (2009)

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