WHAT ABOUT OUR HEALTH? A crisis to fear or a reason to act?

The climate crisis is also a health crisis. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events are driving more heat-related deaths, spreading vector-borne diseases, and damaging mental health – impacts that fall hardest on the most vulnerable communities. 

Framing climate change through the lens of health makes it personal – and the solutions preventative. Clean energy doesn’t just cut carbon; it saves lives by cleaning the air we breathe. Greener cities reduce emissions, protect us from heatwaves, and support our wellbeing. 

In this episode, James and Daisy explore the urgent connections between climate change and health. How is our health already being affected? How can health risks drive climate action? And what solutions offer the greatest benefits for both people and planet?  

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: 

• Outrage + Optimism (2025) – A fantastic podcast episode from Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson exploring why health must be central to climate communication. They are joined by Julia Gillard, Chair of the Wellcome Trust.  
• Force of Nature – Founded by former Fossil vs Future guest, Clover Hogan, this non-profit provides mental health resources and research on the rise of eco-anxiety.

OTHER ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES:

• Our World in Data (2024) – “Almost no one has “heat” or “cold” written on their death certificate, but sub-optimal temperatures lead to a large number of premature deaths.”
• EAT-Lancet Commission (2019) – Proposes a global planetary health diet that is healthy for both people and planet. 
• NY Times (2025) – The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) will stop funding research on the health effects of climate change.
• NY Times (2025) – With 59% of its revenue coming from federal and external sponsors, Harvard’s School of Public Health faces what has been called an “existential crisis.”
• Smart Surfaces Coalition – Promotes the adoption of green, porous, and reflective surfaces to enable cities to decrease urban heat, save money, reduce flooding risk, and strengthen urban liveability, resilience, and equity.
• City of Barcelona – Offers a publicly available map of climate shelters across the city. 
• Wellcome – Showcases climate solutions with health co-benefits, such as protecting forests in Indonesia by meeting community needs. 
• CNN (2023) – Singapore’s founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, once called air conditioning “the greatest invention of the 20th century” and credited it for helping to transform the island. 
• Verv – An AI-based smart home product that allows remote control of HVAC units, switching to standby, setting temperature points, and programming set points.
• NHS & UNHSA (2025) – Partnered with the UK Met Office to integrate climate science and modelling into health impact assessments and launch an impact-based Weather-Health Alerting System.

SOME FACTS: 

• WHO (2023): 37% of heat-related deaths can be linked to human-induced climate change, and heat-related deaths among people over 65 have risen by 70% in just the last two decades.
• Imperial (2020): Changing temperature and rainfall across Africa could increase yellow fever deaths by up to 25% by 2050.
• UNEP (2023): Air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to public health globally and accounts for more than 8 million premature deaths every year.
• The Lancet (2021): A survey of 10,000 young people (aged 16-25 years) in 10 countries found that 59% were “very or extremely worried” about climate change, and 84% were at least moderately worried. 
• LSE (2024): The UK experienced five heatwave periods during summer 2022 with record-breaking temperatures of over 40°C in England.