Symposium and short course

Climate Change and Health: Research Methods and Policy Issues

The Australian National University, Canberra
29th September - 2nd October 2003

The world's climate system is central to Earth's life-supporting capacity. Populations of all animal species depend on supplies of food, freshwater, freedom from excessive infections disease, and the physical safety and psychological comfort conferred by climatic stability.

Today, humankind is increasing the atmospheric concentration of energy-trapping gases, thereby amplifying the natural 'greenhouse effect' that keeps Earth comfortably above freezing-point. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in 2001: ' There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities'. Climatologists forecast further warming, along with changes in precipitation and climatic variability, during the coming century. The recent major drought in Australia is suspected to have been exacerbated by an increased climate variability.

There is a wide range of expected health impacts of climate change. Most entail changes in the frequency or severity of familiar health risks - such as those due to floods, storms and fires; the mortality toll of heat-waves; the range and seasonality of infectious diseases; agricultural productivity; reduced freshwater supplies; and the repercussions of economic dislocation and population displacement. In the assessment of various national and international scientific panels, most such health impacts will be adverse.

Human health effects of climate change are being elucidated via studies in a number of countries, but more research is needed to monitor climate change, to document any health effects, and to improve our forecasting of future health impacts.

In 2002, the WHO estimated that, by 2000, climate change was already responsible for 2.4% of diarrhoeal disease worldwide and up to 6 - 7% of malaria and dengue in specified groups of countries. This year, the Commonwealth government has released a report (prepared by the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, CSIRO Atmospheric Research, the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre, and the University of Otago) presenting estimates of the health impacts of climate change in Australia in the 2030s and 2050s.

It is timely to assemble and discuss all we know about climate change and its health effects.

The planned one-day Symposium will bring together some of the key international experts actively researching these issues, and they will report on the most up-to-date evidence available.

The Symposium is the first day of a four-day short course on research methods and policy issues in climate change and health. The international experts will explain the latest methods and demonstrate science and policy applications to this topic. Participants in the course will get hands-on training using case studies, and the opportunity to discuss their questions in detail with some of the world leaders in this research field.

Topic areas will range from an overview of greenhouse science, review of international and national assessments, work of the international Panel on Climate Change, and research strategies for assessing health impacts, including the following:

• Relative roles of observational studies and predictive modelling
• Uses of time-series analysis
• Statistical, biological and other approaches to modeling infectious diseases
• Uses of remote-sense data, and spatial analyses
• Climatic-environmental scenario forecasting
• Estimating climate-attributable disease burdens
• Future health risks: integrated assessment techniques
• Mitigation and adaptation policies and strategies.

Robert Watson: Chief Scientist & Senior Advisor, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development - The World Bank; ex-Chair (1996–2002) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Tony McMichael: Central role, as co-chair, in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments of health impacts (1996, 2001). Advisor to WHO and other UN agencies on climate change and health impacts. Author and editor of several books on this topic area. Director, NCEPH, ANU.

Jonathan Patz: Director, program on Health Effects of Global Environmental Change, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; international lead author, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1993–2001; co-chair, US Assessment of climate change impacts.

Sari Kovats: Advisor to WHO on climate change, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; international lead author, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1997–2001.

Who should attend: Any interested person is welcome.

*Student registrations will require proof of student status.

Who should attend: Professionals, researchers and postgraduate students in the appropriate field with suitable background knowledge for the content of the course.

Pre-requisite: Familiarity with basic environmental epidemiology.

The short course registration fee includes the one-day symposium.