General

Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education: 

Climate & Health Key Competencies for Health Professions Students

This set of competencies reflects foundational climate and health knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes for health professions students to mitigate the health impacts of climate change. Intended as a guide for developing climate and health education in health professions schools’ curricula, the set can be applied as needed and included in a variety of formats and over different timescales, such as in slides over several years of teaching, a series of lectures, or an entire course. The set of competencies offers an overview 2 of the different domains, units, and elements of competency recommended for all health professions students, as well as specific competencies for public health and clinical practices.

The original GCCHE competencies set was developed and adopted in February 2018 by the GCCHE Advisory Council and Coordinating Committee. Amendments were developed by the GCCHE Coordinating Committee in November 2020.

Resource Portals

• American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting - Recorded lectures on topics of climate and health relative to meteorological phenomena
• The Global Climate & Health Alliance - Documents and other didactic materials on wide-ranging topics, including the following: Science, Impacts, Healthcare, International Guidance, Mitigation and co-benefits, Policy, Communications and Advocacy and Cross-cutting Resources on Climate & Health
• Climate and Health Alliance - Report-based resource on wide-ranging topics, Specific to Australia
• Climate Central Resources - Local resources, graphics and tools on climate impacts and science
• Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) repository of peer-reviewed studies on climate and health
• The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health Annual Meetings - Recordings and slides from conferences past + registration for current conference (if open)

Fact Sheets

• Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, “Facts About Climate Change and Health”
• Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, "Impact of heat stress on outdoor workers" 2016
• University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems, Climate Change Fast Facts, 2021
• Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, Climate Opinion Fact Sheets and Maps, 2022
• Young People’s Trust for the Environment printable fact sheet, at youth level
• World Health Organization (WHO), “Climate change and health, Key facts”, updated October 2021
• Wellbery C, et al. Climate Change and the Local Environment: Communicating with Your Patients about Health Impacts. Am Fam Physician. 2021 Nov;104(5):526-530.

Videos

• Renzo Guinto, "Voices PH: Ajuy, Iloilo", Apr 11, 2019
• Renzo Guinto, "Voices PH: Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte", Apr 11, 2019
• US Department of Labor, “OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Campaign”, Jul 8, 2015

Slides

• Michael J. Passow, “Introduction to Climate Change and What You Can Do about It/the LDEO Core Repository”, Nov 18, 2017
• Teddie Potter, “Minni-Sotah: Sky-tinted Water”, Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, Climate & Health Solutions Conference, Apr 9, 2018

Books

• Butler CD, Dixon J, Capon AG (eds). Health of People, Places and Planet. Reflections based on Tony McMichael’s four decades of contribution to epidemiological understanding. Canberra: ANU Press.
• Butler CD (ed). Climate Change and Global Health. Wallingford: CABI; 2016.
• Cole J. Planetary Health: Human Health in an Era of Global Environmental Change. CABI; 2019.
• DiPrete Brown L. Foundations for Global Health Practice. Hoboken: Jossey-Bass; 2018. (See Chapter 10: “Climate and Health”)
• Ferguson D, Fisher K (eds). Environment & Health in the 21st Century; 2015. (See Chapter 6: “Climate Change and Human Health”)
• Friel S. Climate Change and the People's Health. New York: Oxford University Press; 2019.
• Frumkin H (ed). Environmental Health: from Global to Local. 3rd ed. Hoboken: Jossey-Bass; 2016.
• Lemery J, Auerbach P. Enviromedics: The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield; 2017.
• Marselle MR, Stadler J, Korn H, Irvine KN, Bonn A (eds). Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change. Springer International Publishing; 2019.
• Myers S, Frumkin H. Planetary Health, Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves. Washington, DC: Island Press; 2020.; educators interested in incorporating this resource into their curriculum, alongside the Planetary Health Alliance's Planetary Health Case Study Anthology, may inquire about exam copies.
• Thomson MC, Mason SJ (eds). Climate Information for Public Health Action. Abingdon: Routledge; 2019.

Podcasts

• Courageous Medicine for The Climate Health Crisis: Activating the Medical Community on Climate, Ashley McClure, MD: Podcast for doctors, nurses and medical professionals organizing to strengthen the climate movement in order to protect everyone's health
• The Climate Clinic, Adesh Sundaresan et al: Podcast covering a variety of topics, from medical professionals’ discussions on climate crises to spotlights on climate crises around the world
• Climate Connections, Yale Center for Climate Communications: Discussions on how topics ranging from fossil fuels to renewables to public health affect human health

Online Courses

• United Nations (UNITAR) - HUMAN HEALTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Free enrollment, Web-based, Self-paced, 
• University of Michigan, “Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action”, Coursera: Free enrollment, Course starts 3 December 2022
• University Hospital Heidelberg – Institute of Global Health, Kenya Medical Research Centre – Centre for Global Health Research, Humboldt Universität Berlin, and others, “Research Methods for the Study of Climate Change and Health”, MOOC: Free enrollment, Course starts 1 March 2022-30 December 2022

Miscellaneous Tools for Climate Health

• "The Proclamation Request Toolkit", Children's Environmental Health Network - Advocacy tool offering customizable templates for proclamations for your mayor and/or governor, showcasing their commitment to protecting the climate and environmental health of children in their jurisdiction
• CLIMAQ-H is a software tool for Member States of the WHO European Region to assess the outcomes of climate-driven policies and support decision-making, or for screening “what-if” scenarios, such as different carbon-reduction options, by comparing the potential health co-benefits achieved by implementing their NDC targets. 
• EPA "Smoke Sense Data Visualization Tool" - Mobile phone application to explore current and forecast maps of air quality, and learn how to protect health from wildfire smoke, record smoke experiences, health symptoms, and behaviors taken to reduce exposure
• GlobalChange.gov - Repository of federal climate and health data
• Global Health Observatory Data Repository - Various public health and climate and health topics from the Fourth National Climate Assessment, Prepared by the U.S. Global Change Research Program staff
• Google's Earth Engine Data Catalog - Open access, Includes over forty years of historical imagery and earth science datasets, including on climate and weather, Datasets can be imported from the website into your script environment
• Heatwave Guide for Cities - Prepared by Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center, Includes basic preparation steps urban citizens and governments to take to protect citizens in the occurrences of heat waves
• International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), Climate and Health Data Library - Interactive maps demonstrating relationship between climate change and health outcomes
• My NASA Data - Interactive website for exploration of phenomena related to the Atmosphere, Biosphere,  , Geosphere, and Hydrosphere
• National Center for Atmospheric Research, “Climate Data Guide”, 2015 - Provides concise and reliable information on the strengths and limitations of the key observational data sets, tools and methods used to evaluate Earth system models and to understand the climate system, Publishes data summaries with access links, intercomparisons, and expert commentaries on the utility of climate data for addressing a wide variety of questions in climate science
• National Weather Service, Climate Prediction Center, “Monitoring & Data Index”, 2012 - Meteorological data repository
• Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Health Emergencies, "Smart Hospitals Toolkit" - Toolkit comprised of previously developed instruments such as the Hospital Safety Index, which many countries are using to help ensure that new or existing health facilities are disaster-resilient
• Wellcome’s Climate Change map - Interactive website for exploration of how climate change affects different parts of the world

Air Pollution and Allergens

Videos

• Bonne Ford, K. O'Dell, R. Gan, J. Liu, W. Lassman, M. Burke, G. Pfister, A. Vaidyanathan, J. Volckens, S. Magzamen, E. V. Fischer, and J. R. Pierce, “Smoke Exposure and Associated Health Effects across Several Fire Seasons and Locations in the Western United States”, 98th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Jan 8, 2018
• Rosalyn Baker, “Heat, Pollen and Air Pollution”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015

Slides

• J. Jason West, “Connecting Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Human Health”, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Jan 5, 2016

Communications and Collaboration

Videos

• Rona Birnbaum, “Moving Climate Health Policy”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015.
• "Climate Changes Health: The Breath and Heart of It All” webinar, American Public Health Association (APHA), May 22, 2017
• Climate Reality, “Climate & Health Meeting”, Feb 16, 2017
• EcoAmerica, “Let’s Talk Health and Climate: Communication Guidance for Health Professionals”, Sept 30, 2016
• The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, Climate & Health Solutions Conference, “Climate Change Solutions”, Apr 13, 2018
• The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, Climate & Health Solutions Conference, “National Climate Assessment 2018 -- Strategies for Progress”, Apr 13, 2018
• Greg Nemet, “How Policy Impacts Climate Change and Human Health”, Kaltura Mediaspace, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dec 3, 2015
• John Nielsen-Gammon, ”You Haven't Seen This Before": Collective Community Experience and the New Extremes”, 98th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Jan 9, 2018
• The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, Climate & Health Solutions Conference, Apr 9-10, 2018. ​Presentations available.
• Omar C. Gates, J. L. Jorns, W. Baule, and L. Briley, “The Role of GLISA in Communicating Climate Change and Health Impacts in the Great Lakes Region”, 98th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Jan 9, 2018
• William Rom, "From Global Warming to Climate Change and Global Public Health", Nov 1, 2018
• Jay Lemery, “Climate Change and Health: The Broad Perspective”, Aspen Global Change Institute, Jan 3, 2017
• The Obama White House, “Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States”, Apr 4, 2016
• Jonathan Patz, “Climate and Health – Where We Stand”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015
• Linda Rudolph, “Climate and Health – Where We Stand”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015
• Mona Sarfaty, “Heat, Pollen and Air Pollution”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015
• Alfred Sommer, B. Hobbs, and J. Taylor, “Welcome and Overview: JHU Climate Change & Health Summit”, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health EHE, Nov 4, 2015
• Catherine Thomasson, “Moving Climate Health Policy”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015
• University of California and Vox, “Why Humans Are So Bad at Thinking about Climate Change”, Apr 19, 2017
• World Health Organization, “WHO: Breathe Life – Clean Air, Healthy Future”, Oct 17, 2016

Slides

• The Forum at The Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health and the Ground Truth Project, “Climate Change: Health and Disease Threats”
• Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Sept 20-21, 2015

Children’s Health

Videos

• The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, Climate & Health Solutions Conference, “Is Climate Change Another Adverse Childhood Event?”, Apr 13, 2018

Ethical, Professional, and Legal Obligations

Articles

• The Ethics of Climate Change, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kaltura MediaSpace, 2019
• Ethics and Climate Change, Nature, 2012
• The Ethical Dimensions of Global Climate Issues (long read)
• Washington Post Opinion: Why Climate Change is an ethical problem (2015)

Health Co-Benefits of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

Videos

• Sir Andrew Haines, “Co-Benefits: the Good News Story of Climate Change and Health (Climate & Health Meeting)”, The Climate Reality Project, Mar 8, 2017
• IISD Reporting Services / ENV, “The role of water in adaptation and mitigation of climate change”, Apr 7, 2017
• Stephanie Stuckey, “Climate & Health Meeting: Special Keynote”, The Climate Reality Project, Mar 8, 2017
• Laura Turner Seydel, “Climate & Health Meeting: Special Keynote”, The Climate Reality Project, Mar 8, 2017
• GEFSecretariat, “Kernel by Kernel: Building Resilience in Rural Malawi”, Jul 29, 2015

Heat

Videos

• Lance Wood, M. Keehn, M. Huffman, and E. Santos, “Houston Heat-Related Illness and Apparent Temperature”, 98th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Jan 10, 2018
• Marsha Wills-Karp, D. Norris, J. Aucott, and M. Ramanathan, “More Heat, More Allergies, More Bugs: Change in Human Health | Brady Dennis - The Washington Post”, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Jun 5, 2017

Articles

• Sorensen, C., Howard, C, Prabhakaran, P., & Basu, R. (2022). Heat illness in clinical practice. British Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-070762

Infectious Diseases

Videos

• Carl Lowenberger, “Disease, Risk and Climate Change- Where do we stand?”, Simon Fraser University, Mar 16, 2015
• Lynn Ringenberg, “Climate Health and Infectious Diseases”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015
• Samantha Ahdoot, “Climate Change and Infectious Diseases”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015

Food and Water Security

Videos

• American Public Health Association (APHA), “Climate Changes Health: How Climate is Changing Your Dinner Plans” webinar, Aug 11, 2017
• Amy Meinen, “Climate Change, Food Quality, & Nutrition”, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kaltura Mediaspace, Dec 3, 2015
• Brad Udall, “Climate Change, Water Supplies and Policy”, Water in West Symposium, Apr 26, 2018
• The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “The Future of Food: Feeding the Planet during Climate Change”, Dec 15, 2016
• University of California and Vox, “The Diet That Helps Fight Climate Change”, Dec 12, 2017

Mental Health

Videos

• EcoAmerica, “Mental Health and Our Changing Climate”, Mar 29, 2017
• Lise Van Susteren, “Mental Health Issues and Climate Change”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015
• Susan Clayton, “Mental Health Issues and Climate Change”, Physicians for Social Responsibility’s (PSR) Climate Health Summit, Oct 15, 2015

Knowledge and Analytical Skills

Videos

• American Geophysical Union, “LEARN Chapter 19: Teaching Climate Using the Third National Assessment”, Jun 22, 2015

Health Impacts

Videos

• Jonathan Patz, “Climate Change is Affecting Our Health. Is There a Cure?”, TEDxOshkosh, Jan 10, 2018
• The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, Climate & Health Solutions Conference, “Kick-Off, Keynote, and Lancet Countdown”, Apr 13, 2018
• World Health Organization South-East Asia Region - WHO SEARO, “Climate Change and Health”, Sep 13, 2017

Policy

Videos

• Juli Trtanj and John Balbus, “Building the U.S. Climate and Health Science Plan: Redefining the Path Forward”, 98th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Jan 8, 2018

Extreme Weather

Videos

• Kristina Kintziger, E. Odoi, and M. Jagger, "Impacts of Climate Change and Extreme Weather on Injury: A Primer for Investigation Focusing on Hurricane-Related Impacts", 99th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Jan 8, 2019

Slides

• Maureen E. Raymo, “Climate and Sea Level Rise: What can you do about it?”, Nov 18, 2017

Resource Portal

• University of Minnesota, Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, “Climate Change and Health: An Interprofessional Response”, 2018

USA

• Denni Cawley, “Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment”, “Climate Changes Health: The Breath and Heart of It All” webinar, American Public Health Association (APHA), May 22, 2017
• Documents and materials on various climate and health topics can be found on The Global Climate & Health Alliance website
• Jessica Wolff, “Climate Solutions for the Health Care Sector”, Apr 10, 2018

Australia

• Climate and Health Alliance. Health Messages from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report on Climate Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. 2022.
• Reports and resources on various climate and health topics in general and specific to Australia can be found on the Climate and Health Alliance website

The Caribbean

• Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Health Emergencies, "Smart Hospitals Toolkit"

• Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education
• Health Care Without Harm
• Planetary Health Alliance​​​​​​