New report focuses on climate change and human health

New York Times : “Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century,” according to a recent report in the Lancet. Written by an international and multidisciplinary commission, the report contains estimates of the number of people worldwide who will be affected by climate change in the form of increased heat waves, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events. It also quantifies the effects that such weather events could have on human health and survival, such as the potential for increased incidence of disease and for increased starvation due to reduced crop yields. The report is unlike others in that it goes beyond explaining the science of climate change and spells out policy recommendations to try to slow it down and mitigate its effects. To help drive the transition to more eco-friendly policies, the commission proposes establishing a countdown to 2030, in which progress on the implementation of the commission’s policy recommendations is monitored over the next 15 years.