The Lancet: Climate change threatens to undermine the last half century of health gains

Posted on 24 June 2015

The threat to human health from climate change is so great that it could undermine the last fifty years of gains in development and global health, according to a major new Commission, published in The Lancet.

The potentially catastrophic risk to human health posed by climate change has been underestimated, say the authors.

And while the technologies and finance required to address the problem can be made available, global political will to implement them is lacking.

However, the Commission’s report, which included input from an academic at the Department of Health Sciences, says the threat from climate change also represents one of the greatest opportunities to improve global health this century.

The Commission concludes that a strong international consensus is essential to move the world to a global low-carbon economy and proposes the formation of a new global independent body on climate change and health.

The Lancet set up the Commission on Health and Climate Change to examine the health impacts of climate change and detail the policy responses needed to protect the health of current and future generations.

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels – the primary driver of climate change – are rising beyond worst-case scenarios and the world is still waiting for international agreement on effective action.

Professor Hilary Graham is a Commission member and contributed to the report’s emphasis on civic engagement and public opinion in pressing for action on climate change.