Health as a Lever for Action on Climate Change: Conference Highlights
On April 8, 2022, IANPHI and Santé publique France, the French public health agency hosting the IANPHI Secretariat, co-hosted a conference to discuss how public health can drive action against climate change. The objective of the event was to highlight the links between climate, biodiversity and health and to encourage concrete action at local, national and European levels.
Geared towards knowledge sharing and action-oriented research, this interdisciplinary conference illustrated how Santé publique France and IANPHI are working together to engage and support National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) as key players in the fight against climate change.
Speakers highlighted the diverse and severe impacts of climate change, on both physical and mental health, as well as the many health benefits associated with ambitious climate policies. They emphasized how the environmental and socio-economic determinants of health can be used to drive climate adaptation and mitigation. Inspiring examples showed how alliances between multisectoral stakeholders can radically transform living environments to make them more favorable to health and biodiversity, while addressing the imperatives of climate adaptation and mitigation.
The highlights of the conference have now been compiled in a publication, which offers the main messages of each session as well as replay links.