Friday, October 18, 2019, Pantin

Interdepartmental Center for the Management of the Inner Suburbs of the Île-de-France Region (CIG)

The current and future impact of climate change on health is now recognized by the scientific community and addressed in the Paris Agreement. Adaptation measures are already necessary to protect public health from impacts (e.g., extreme weather events, vector-borne diseases, etc.). At the same time, measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are likely to yield significant health co-benefits (e.g., improved air quality, promotion of physical activity, nutrition, etc.). Thus, a recent review in The Lancet on the health impacts of climate change concludes that the adaptation and mitigation policies currently being implemented will shape public health for centuries to come (Watts 2018).
The majority of health-promoting adaptation and mitigation measures are driven by sectors other than health, particularly in the area of land-use planning. It appears essential to raise awareness among a wide range of professionals regarding the health implications of their actions on climate change, and the need to work across sectors to anticipate health risks in the medium and long term.