Lancet Briefing: Climate Change and Health

An urgent new frontier for humanitarianism

As part of the Lancet Countdown project, policy briefs are produced to highlight emerging issues of relevance to global and national discussions.

Current and forecast climate-related impacts on human health and the operations of humanitarian actors, such as Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), necessitate an updated analysis of the intersection of climate change and global health.

This brief seeks to integrate the findings of the 2018 Lancet Countdown on Climate Change’s International Report with MSF’s on-the-ground experience in treating some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, with a view to highlighting the dramatic health consequences already unfolding, as well the dangerous levels of humanitarian need likely if greenhouse gas emissions are not urgently brought in line with levels consistent with the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The brief identifies major areas at the nexus of climate change and global health where new policies and approaches are needed and further research is required.

Climate

Climate Change and Health: an urgent new frontier for humanitarianism

Climate

Climate emergency: A humanitarian call to action