UW contributors to IPCC report underscore climate change’s threat to humanity
Recently, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Working Group II report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, and two distinguished experts on the intersection of human health and climate change from the UW, Dr. Kristie Ebi and Dr. Jeremy Hess, served as lead authors. Dr. Ebi and Dr. Hess specifically authored Chapter 7 of the report, focusing on the “Health, wellbeing and the changing structure of communities,” and Dr. Ebi additionally contributed to the Summary for Policymakers. Their work on climate change’s dangerous effects to human health serve as a vital part of the 3000+ page report, warning policymakers and the public about the dire threat posed by climate change, and truly emphasizing the importance of education, mitigation, and adaptation as we face this crisis.
Both Dr. Hess and Dr. Ebi have close ties to the Program on Climate Change. The Center for Health and the Global Environment at the UW (CHanGE), currently directed by Dr. Hess, has worked intimately with the PCC for years, working to recognize and address the effects of climate change on human populations. Meanwhile, Dr. Ebi, the founding director of CHanGE, joined the PCC Governing Board the very first year of CHanGE’s existence, and still represents the program to this day.
Dr. Hess emphasized that humanity will be affected by this crisis, remarking on the “widespread burdens on health, through warming temperatures, extreme heat events, changing precipitation patterns and relative humidity, more frequent and severe storms, and wildfires,” in addition to detrimental effects of diseases and mental health caused by changing climate. However, hope is not lost. There are many large-scale mitigation and adaptation strategies available to us that can curb the most harmful effects of the crisis, including increasing warning systems and action plans to predict and respond to climate-driven health emergencies, expanding access to universal health care, and reducing the spread of disease through control of vectors and vaccination. Of course, individual action is also extremely valuable in this movement. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is perhaps the most prominent way to ensure health dividends, and while large-scale action on this issue is required, personal choices such as increasing use of public transportation and other low-carbon ways of travel and changing dietary preferences to produce less emissions are still valuable.
Although the situation is truly dire, there is still time to act. We have the knowledge needed to mitigate the worst effects of climate change and the capability to adapt to overcome them, but we must implement these strategies immediately. As Dr. Ebi emphasized, “The future is in our hands. We may not be able to prevent flooding events or heat waves, but we can be prepared. The choices we make going forward will determine all of our futures.”
Read the IPCC AR6 WGII’s Full Report, Technical Summary, or Summary for Policymakers here!