The December 2020 issue of Health Affairs is the first-ever focused exclusively on the intersection of climate and health. It covers topics including the health sector’s contribution to carbon emissions and other forms of pollution, how communities are affected by and adapting to the changing climate, and policies to protect against further damage. Kristie Ebi, UW CHanGE, served as theme adviser of the issue. 

Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviewed Kristie Ebi on the complex relationship between climate change and human health in this podcast: Healthcare take note: every greenhouse gas emission matters.

On December 8, Alan Weil hosted a panel of authors to discuss their contributions to the issue. Presenters included:

• Kristie Ebi, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Global Health, University of Washington, and Health Affairs Theme Issue Adviser, on “Health Risks Due To Climate Change: Inequity In Causes And Consequences”
• Matthew J. Eckelman, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, and Jodi Sherman, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and of Epidemiology in Environmental Health Sciences, Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Yale University, on “United States Health Care Pollution and Public Health Damages: An Update”
• David D. Fukuzawa, Senior Advisor to the President, The Kresge Foundation
• Alonzo Plough, Vice President, Research-Evaluation-Learning and Chief Science Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Mary Kathryn Poole, PhD Student, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on “Alignment Of US School Lunches With The EAT-Lancet Healthy Reference Diet’s Standards For Planetary Health”
• Paul J. Schramm, Climate Science Team Lead, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services, and Shasta Gaughen, Director, Pala Environmental Department, Pala Band of Mission Indians, on “How Indigenous Communities Are Adapting To Climate Change: Insights From The Climate-Ready Tribes Initiative”
• James M. Shultz, Director, DEEP Center, University of Miami School of Medicine, and Nadia Holder-Hamilton, Physician, Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health Nassau, The Bahamas, on “Scrambling For Safety In The Eye Of Dorian: Mental Health Consequences Of Exposure To A Climate-Driven Hurricane”

Health Affairs thanks Kristie Ebi of the University of Washington for serving as theme adviser. We thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Kresge Foundation for their financial support of the Climate & Health issue.

See original article in Health Affairs.