Climate Change

We are in a critical time window: health and environmental authority bodies tell us that in order to deliver a healthy climate for today’s children, we must put ourselves on a path to a net zero economy as we recover from COVID-19. How do we solve two planetary health emergencies at once? What role do Emergency Physicians have in protecting patients and health systems from climate harms? Climate change is the biggest health threat of the 21st century but thanks to the glacial pace of curriculum change, most ER docs are under-briefed. Join us for this crash course in climate emergency medicine: we’ve pared it down to only the essentials of what you need to know–and what our patients and children need us to do.

Describe the planetary health frame and how it relates to human health and health systems
Understand the interrelationship between climate change and the drivers of future pandemics
Anticipate and manage the major threats posed by climate change to health and health systems
Describe priority action items to promote planetary health now and into the future