YCCCH team publishes new article on city leaders’ insights on health and climate change
YCCCH Core and Affiliated Faculty members, including Drs. Jeannette Ickovics, Daniel Carrión, Robert Dubrow, Karen Seto, and David Vlahov, published a new paper in the Journal of Urban Health. While cities recognize the risks of climate hazards, such as heat and pollution, their preparedness and integration of climate-health plans remain insufficient. The paper offers recommendations including prioritizing health-focused adaptation, investing in climate-mitigation actions with health co-benefits, and fostering multi-sector collaboration to drive resilient, equitable solutions for urban populations in the face of rapid urbanization and increasing vulnerabilities.
Updated healthcare emissions calculator now live
The latest update to YCCCH’s free Healthcare Supply Chain Emissions Calculator is now live. This free tool
is specifically designed for health care organization accounting of emissions embodied in goods and services. It is based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 3 standard — the most common emissions accounting method for large complex organizations — and extends to other environmental issues such as water use and air pollution. The tool is supported by the latest emissions factors from the U.S. EPA and their U.S. Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (USEEIO) spend-based model. The tool was developed with generous support from Yale Planetary Solutions.
YCCCH joins 60+ organizations in supporting federal policy agenda for tackling extreme heat
With official data now showing 2024 was the hottest year on record, the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health joined the Federation of American Scientists and more than 60 labor, industry, health, housing, environmental, academic, and community associations and organizations in unveiling the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda
. This strategy provides specific, actionable policy ideas to tackle the growing threat of extreme heat in the United States — an issue that now affects all 50 states, with heat killing more Americans every year than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined.
Dr. Thomas Pogge wins 2024 OHE Innovation Prize
Each year, the Office of Health Economics (OHE) in London awards a £40,000 Innovation Prize. Dr. Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs and YCCCH Affiliated Faculty member, won half of the 2024 prize with his proposal of an Ecological Impact Fund
, which proposes to reward development and diffusion of green technologies in the lower-income countries according to pollution-caused harms averted with them. He is looking for help in refining this proposal and winning support for it in international fora such as the UNFCCC COP30 and the G20.
New study links Roman-era lead pollution to widespread cognitive decline
Nicole-Kristine Smith, MPH '24, an alumna of YCCCH’s Climate Change and Health concentration, and colleagues at the Desert Research Institute published a new study in PNAS examining the impact of lead pollution from Roman-era silver mining and smelting on human health. Using Arctic ice core data, atmospheric modeling, and modern epidemiological methods, the study showed that
lead emissions raised air concentrations across Europe, leading to widespread increased childhood blood lead levels and reduced IQ points.
Clinic student team presents toolkit for CT health departments on extreme heat and air quality
Last month, students Sena Wazer and Reece Pauling in YCCCH’s Clinic in Climate Justice and Public Health practicum course presented a webinar to launch the Toolkit for Municipal Extreme Heat & Air Quality Response Planning in Connecticut. Drawing from nearly 20 extreme heat and/or air quality response plans across the U.S., the toolkit
includes a template for local heat and air quality preparedness and response plans, highlights innovative strategies from municipalities in California, Maine, Connecticut, and Colorado, and provides shareable resources that can be adapted by local stakeholders.
Multiple positions – WE ACT for Environmental Justice (New York, NY and Washington D.C.)
Events in Climate Change and Health
Yale Events:
Climate Change and Health Seminar with Dr. Neha Pathak, “From Bedside to Byline: A Physician's Perspective on Communicating the Health Impacts of Climate Change”
Monday, January 27, 2025 | 12:00 – 12:50 p.m. ET
LEPH 115, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510 or Virtual
Neha Pathak is part of WebMD's Medical Team, which is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of health information on WebMD. She oversees a national network of doctors that reviews content across the site and works with the editorial teams that create it. This includes news, special reports, WebMD Magazine, videos, mobile applications, tools, and health reference content. She also reports on topics related to lifestyle and environmental impacts on health for WebMD and Medscape. As Chief Physician Editor, Health and Lifestyle Medicine, Pathak is a media spokesperson for WebMD and hosts WebMD's Health Discovered podcast. Before joining WebMD, Pathak worked as a primary care doctor at the Department of Veterans Affairs and completed the VA Quality Scholars/Quality Improvement Fellowship Program. She is on the faculty of the Atlanta VA Medical Center's Quality Scholars Program and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Pathak
continues to see patients and works with local communities dealing with health impacts of environmental pollution. Her work has been published in medical journals, textbooks, and the lay press.
Registration is required. Yale affiliates are welcome to join us in person at LEPH 115, 60 College Street. All others may stream the event via Zoom.
External Resources and Opportunities
Abstract submissions: Join for MS4SF Climate Health Equity Day 2025
Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (MS4SF) is excited to announce its annual “Climate Health Equity Day: Our Patients, Our Planet, Our Future” on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, or online via Zoom. Visit the conference home page for additional details.
