YCCCH to co-host events during Climate Week NYC 2024
The Yale Center on Climate Change and Health is excited to announce its participation in Climate Week NYC 2024 with a series of events that focus on the critical intersections between climate change and health. On September 26 we will co-host “The Yale-UNICEF Workshop on Climate Change and Children’s Health” with UNICEF, and on September 27 we will co-host “Health Systems Implementing Climate Action” with The New York Academy of Medicine. These events – which coincide with Climate Week NYC’s newly launched health theme – aim to foster insightful discussions, showcase innovative research, and engage the community in meaningful action.
Stay tuned and visit our website for more details coming soon.
YCCCH launches new Program on Climate Change and Urban Health
The Yale Center on Climate Change and Health is thrilled to announce the launch of the new Program on Climate Change and Urban Health. Led by Dr. Jeannette Ickovics, Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health, this program aims to build an integrated, multi-sector approach to advance our collective understanding of the impacts of climate on health, empowering us to meet the demands of today’s interconnected world. Additionally, the program co-hosts the Urban Pulse initiative, which is dedicated to putting health and equity at the heart of climate action. Urban Pulse is a transdisciplinary collaboration of the Resilient Cities Network and Yale University to identify urban climate and health priorities.
Read more about the program and the Urban Pulse initiative here.
UNICEF publishes new report on climate change impacts on children’s health
While evidence on the impacts of the climate crisis on children is growing, it often focuses on individual hazards rather than on the unique vulnerabilities of children, and it frequently lacks strong and actionable policy recommendations. In July 2024, UNICEF and Karolinska Institutet published a report that addresses these challenges by compiling existing evidence in a comprehensive “stocktake” on the impacts of the climate crisis on children including droughts, floods and storms, and extreme heat. The report highlights factors that can exacerbate the impact of climate change on their health and well-being, and makes recommendations to address these challenges.
Read the full report, “A threat to progress: Confronting the effects of climate change on child health and well-being.”
Now accepting applications for online Climate Change and Health Certificate Program
The Yale Center on Climate Change and Health is now accepting applications for the twelfth offering of our 21-week, fully online, Climate Change and Health Certificate Program for working professionals, including public health professionals, clinicians, mental health professionals, college and university faculty, health educators, policymakers, environmental professionals, government officials, and advocates.
Participants in this program are trained to 1) understand the health impacts of climate change and the health co-benefits of climate action; 2) devise adaptation strategies to increase their communities' resilience to the health consequences of climate change; 3) communicate the health-related risks of climate change effectively to the public and policymakers; and 4) take a “deeper dive” into one of three climate change hotspot regions: the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, or South Asia.
The offering will begin on September 30, 2024. We give deep tuition discounts to applicants from low-income countries and lower middle-income countries. Candidates can visit the certificate website to learn more about the program and start their application here. The application deadline is Friday, September 20, 2024.
YCCCH Faculty members named to Editorial Board of two renowned journals
Dr. Kai Chen, Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Environmental Health Sciences) and YCCCH’s Co-Faculty Director, was recently appointed to the American Geophysical Union’s GeoHealth Editorial Board. This transdisciplinary, open access journal publishes high-quality original research articles and commentaries at the intersection of the Earth, environmental sciences, and health sciences.
In addition, Dr. Kai Chen and YCCCH Affiliated Faculty members Drs. Erica Spatz and Yuan Lu were appointed to the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, one of the world’s leading cardiovascular journals.
YCCCH researchers awarded “top ten most-cited papers published”
The GeoHealth journal article, “Residential and Race/Ethnicity Disparities in Heat Vulnerability in the United States,” authored by YCCCH researchers Mitchell Manware, MPH, and Drs. Robert Dubrow, Daniel Carrión, Yiqun Ma, and Kai Chen, was recently recognized as one of the top ten most-cited papers. This study aimed to develop a Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) for the United States to effectively assess heat vulnerability across historically marginalized geographies and quantify HVI by race/ethnicity. Their findings suggested that historically redlined and disadvantaged census tracts and communities of color are associated with increased vulnerability to heat, emphasizing the need for equitable climate change adaptation policies that address place- and race/ethnicity-based disparities.
This summer, the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health welcomed six new Affiliated Faculty members from the Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Environment. Now nearly 70 strong, YCCCH Affiliated Faculty have expertise on a range of topics and disciplines related to climate change and health. The newest Affiliated Faculty are:
Colin Carlson, PhD – Assistant Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) at the Yale School of Public Health
Colleen Murphy-Dunning, MS – Program Director, Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability, Urban Resources Initiative (URI); Lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment
Karen Seto, PhD – Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at the Yale School of the Environment; Director of the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability
YCCCH Affiliated Faculty reflect on implications of Supreme Court’s Chevron ruling
In June 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the 40-year-old legal precedent known as the “Chevron doctrine.” This decision could greatly impact environmental regulations aimed at limiting air and water pollution, safeguarding people from toxic chemicals, protecting endangered species, advancing the clean energy transition, and addressing climate change. YCCCH Affiliated Faculty members, Dr. Todd Cort, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability at the School of Management and Co-Faculty Director of the Center for Business and the Environment, and Gerald Torres, Professor of Environmental Justice at the School of the Environment and Professor of Law at the Law School, reflected on the ruling and its potential effects on the environment and corporate sustainability efforts.
Save the Sound is looking to fill a Climate & Resilience Campaigns Manager position. Learn more and apply here.
WE ACT for Environmental Justice is seeking to fill multiple roles in their New York City and Washington, DC offices. A full listing of positions and their descriptions can be found here.
UPROSE is looking to fill multiple roles, including Energy Justice Coordinator and Climate Justice Organizer, on their team. Learn more and apply here.
Events in Climate Change and Health
Save the Dates!
YSPH Climate Change and Health – Seminar Series
September 9, October 28, November 11, and December 9 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET
LEPH 115, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510 or Virtual
Mark your calendars for our upcoming Climate Change and Health Seminar Series. Join us as we explore the critical intersection between climate change and public health with leading experts in the field. This monthly seminar series will feature insightful discussions, groundbreaking research, and innovative solutions to the pressing challenges posed by climate change.
Stay tuned for more details on speakers and topics on our calendar.
Trainings and Webinars
The H2020 ENBEL project—the Enhancing Belmont Forum research action to support EU policy-making on climate change and health—has produced science-based evidence syntheses on climate change and health links, identified knowledge gaps and co-produced with stakeholders a series of tailor-made actionable knowledge products. The following tools are available on the ENBEL Knowledge Portal:
Online library of learning courses and training materials on climate change and health (featuring description/duration/fee when not free/language)
Films and educational videos on climate change and health topics
Policy briefs for decision-makers involved in climate adaptation and health policies
Research factsheets on key policy-relevant questions, notably on environmental and occupational heat stress, air pollution (including wildfires), climate-sensitive infectious disease and on differential vulnerability to climate change impacts
