Climate change is one of the biggest health threats facing humanity. It is already affecting our health, and these impacts are likely to increase. The Climate Change and Health research programme is a new collaboration between the two institutes looking into the intersection between climate change and health. The programme brings together experts from different disciplines to understand and address the health impacts of a changing climate.
The climate change and health research films set out some of these complex challenges and explain why it’s urgent we act now; how University Bristol researchers are working together to understand and address the issues; and what we can achieve by investing in this area of research.
Complex challenges
Climate change will impact health in multiple ways, including mental health, changes in disease patterns; impacts on water, food and nutrition; health consequences of extreme weather events; implications for health and inequalities of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to support wider adaptation.
Rachael Gooberman-Hill, Director of Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, said: “The health impacts of climate change will not be shared equally. People with least resource are most likely to experience problematic impact on their health and may be living in contexts without sufficient capacity to adapt. These films highlight the University of Bristol’s strengths and ambitions in Climate Change and Health research.”
Working together
The new research programme will help to build our research capacity, leadership, and impact across several multidisciplinary challenges areas including.
Guy Howard, Director of Cabot Institute for the Environment, said: “We draw together our existing excellence in climate and health research and a focus how our research leads to more equitable, resilient, sustainable solutions with global impact. At the heart of our approach is addressing health inequalities and just transition to ensure that our research contributes to a healthier, safer and fairer world. By working with external partners like the Met Office and the World Health Organization (WHO) we are bringing together experts with the different expertise needed to understand the issues and find solutions.”
A healthier future
Rachael Gooberman-Hill continued: “We want to inspire researchers from different disciplines to get involved, we hope the films will excite people about the positive impact that climate change and health research could have. Together we can find solutions for a healthier future… for us and the planet.”