10 Key Strategies for Policy Makers to Combat Climate Change Health Risks

Climate change is no longer a distant threat-it’s a public health emergency unfolding right now. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting disease patterns are already affecting communities worldwide, with the most vulnerable bearing the heaviest burden. For policy makers at national and local levels, the question isn’t whether to act, but how to act effectively. The good news? Many strategies that combat climate change also deliver immediate health benefits, creating a powerful case for urgent, coordinated action.

Advocate for equitable climate agreements 🔗

Strong international commitments form the foundation of effective climate action. The World Health Organization estimates that climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually between 2030 and 2050 from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress alone. These figures underscore why health must be central to climate negotiations.

Policy makers should push for climate agreements that prioritize both emissions reduction and health equity. The principle is straightforward: those who have contributed most to greenhouse gas emissions should bear greater responsibility for mitigation and adaptation costs. This equity-focused approach ensures that vulnerable nations-often those least responsible for emissions-receive the support they need to protect their populations.

Making health central to climate policy 🔗

WHO’s COP29 special report recommends making human health and well-being the primary measure of climate success. This means ending fossil fuel subsidies, realigning economic systems to protect both health and environment, and investing in clean alternatives that simultaneously reduce pollution-related diseases and carbon emissions. When health becomes the metric of progress, policy decisions naturally shift toward solutions that protect people while addressing climate change.

Strengthen health systems 🔗

Climate-resilient health systems are essential for protecting communities from escalating health risks. This requires building capacity across multiple fronts: disease surveillance, disaster preparedness, health workforce training, and public education.

According to World Bank research, climate change could lead to excess health costs of at least US$21 trillion in low- and middle-income countries by 2050. The healthcare sector itself contributes roughly 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that transitioning to low-carbon health systems serves a dual purpose: reducing emissions while building climate resilience.

Building surveillance and early warning systems 🔗

Climate-informed surveillance systems allow health authorities to anticipate and respond to emerging threats. These include monitoring heat-related illnesses during increasingly frequent heatwaves, tracking vector-borne diseases as their geographic ranges shift, and preparing for water-borne disease outbreaks following floods. Investments in renewable energy for healthcare infrastructure-such as solar power for hospitals and clinics-ensure that facilities can continue operating during extreme weather events while reducing their carbon footprint.

Training the health workforce 🔗

Health professionals need training on the connections between climate and health to effectively counsel patients and communities. Research published in Canadian Family Physician shows that physician advocacy for active transportation, for example, increases cycling levels among patients compared to those who receive no such guidance. This demonstrates how an informed health workforce can promote behaviours that benefit both individual health and the climate.

Protect vulnerable populations 🔗

Climate change does not affect everyone equally. WHO data reveals that 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. In vulnerable regions, death rates from extreme weather events over the past decade were 15 times higher than in less vulnerable areas. This stark disparity demands targeted interventions.

Who is most at risk? 🔗

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identifies older adults as particularly vulnerable because aging bodies are less able to compensate for environmental hazards like heat and air pollution. Many older adults have chronic health conditions that worsen during extreme weather, limited mobility that makes evacuation difficult, and dependence on medications or medical equipment that may be disrupted during emergencies.

Research on climate change and children’s health found that children disproportionately bear the global disease burden from climate change-88% of climate-related disease burden falls on children. Their developing bodies, higher relative consumption of food and water, and longer expected lifespans expose them to cumulative climate impacts that adults may not experience.

Socially vulnerable groups-including low-income communities, certain immigrant populations, and communities of colour-face compounded risks. These populations often live in areas prone to flooding, extreme heat, and poor air quality, and may lack the resources to prepare for or recover from climate-related events.

Targeted interventions for at-risk groups 🔗

The Pan American Health Organization’s 2024 policy specifically calls for integrating equity in adaptation and mitigation measures while responding to the health needs of underserved communities and vulnerable groups. Practical measures include establishing cooling centres in urban heat islands, ensuring emergency preparedness plans account for mobility limitations, creating multilingual health communications, and strengthening social support networks for isolated individuals.

Promote health co-benefits of mitigation 🔗

Perhaps the most compelling argument for climate action is that many mitigation strategies deliver immediate health benefits-often before any measurable impact on global temperatures. This “health co-benefits” approach reframes climate policy not as a sacrifice but as an investment in public health.

Active transport: walking and cycling 🔗

Research published in PNAS examining over 11,000 cities globally found that walking and cycling emit virtually no carbon or harmful air pollutants while helping people integrate physical activity into daily routines. Health benefits include improved mental well-being and reduced cardiovascular disease, with cycling shown to reduce all-cause mortality by 10 to 11 percent.

Studies in Nature Climate Change confirm that policies encouraging active transportation can reduce the burden of multiple chronic conditions including certain cancers, diabetes, heart disease, and dementia by increasing physical activity and decreasing air pollution exposure.

Cleaner energy and reduced air pollution 🔗

Analysis of climate mitigation policies shows that reducing consumption of fossil fuels for transport and energy directly decreases air pollution-related respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The transition to clean energy thus provides health benefits in the near term while contributing to long-term climate stabilization. This dual benefit makes investment in renewables and energy efficiency particularly cost-effective when health savings are factored into the equation.

Sustainable food systems 🔗

Dietary shifts away from high-carbon animal products toward more plant-based options reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also decreasing saturated fat intake. This dietary pattern is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and obesity-related conditions. Policy makers can support these transitions through public procurement standards, educational initiatives, and incentives for sustainable agriculture.

Invest in research and awareness 🔗

Effective climate-health action requires solid evidence and public understanding. An integrative review of mental health impacts identified significant gaps in our understanding of how climate change affects psychological well-being, particularly among vulnerable populations. The research found that land-vulnerable persons, Indigenous peoples, children, older adults, and climate migrants are disproportionately affected by climate-related mental health consequences including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.

Interdisciplinary research priorities 🔗

Climate and health research must cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. This means connecting atmospheric scientists with epidemiologists, urban planners with public health officials, and economists with environmental health specialists. Priority research areas include quantifying the health costs of climate inaction, identifying the most effective interventions for specific populations, and developing better surveillance tools for emerging climate-sensitive health risks.

Building public awareness 🔗

Public understanding of climate-health connections remains limited in many communities. Educational initiatives should communicate both the health risks of inaction and the health benefits of climate-positive choices. When people understand that walking to work reduces their risk of heart disease while also reducing emissions, or that energy efficiency improvements mean cleaner air for their children, abstract climate concerns become personal health motivations.

Addressing perceptual barriers 🔗

Research shows that personal experience with extreme weather events can increase willingness to take climate action, but perceptual barriers often prevent people from connecting their experiences to broader climate trends. Effective communication strategies should link local health impacts-heat illnesses in summer, worsening allergies, more frequent flooding-to climate change, making the issue tangible and immediate rather than distant and abstract.

From policy to action: implementation priorities 🔗

Recent analysis in Climatic Change emphasizes the importance of adopting a “Health in All Policies” approach, where health considerations are integrated into decision-making across all government sectors. This approach recognizes that many determinants of both health and climate outcomes-transportation systems, urban planning, energy policy, agricultural practices-lie outside traditional health ministry jurisdiction.

Successful implementation requires dedicated financing for climate-health initiatives. Currently, spending on adaptation lags far behind what is needed, despite evidence that such spending is more cost-effective than disaster recovery. Policy makers should advocate for increased climate finance with explicit health components, ensuring that health system strengthening and vulnerable population protection receive adequate resources.

Finally, implementation must be tailored to local contexts. The specific health vulnerabilities, climate risks, and available resources vary significantly between and within countries. What works in a coastal urban area facing sea level rise will differ from what’s needed in an inland rural region experiencing drought. Local policy makers are essential partners in translating broad strategies into context-appropriate action.

What do you think? How can your community better integrate health considerations into climate planning? Which vulnerable populations in your area need the most urgent attention as climate impacts intensify?

References

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
2. https://www.who.int/news/item/07-11-2024-who-demands-urgent-integration-of-health-in–climate-negotiations-ahead-of-cop29
3. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/health/brief/health-and-climate-change
4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8516176/
5. https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-and-health-older-adults
6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3059989/
7. https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-and-health-socially-vulnerable-people
8. https://www.paho.org/en/news/1-10-2024-member-states-adopt-policy-strengthen-health-sector-face-climate-change-focusing
9. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12184402/
10. https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2247
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4953604/
12. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10558031/
13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-025-03914-7