The Gordon Goodman Lecture with Professor Andy Haines

Climate change and health: developing evidence for action

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm University are proud to present the Gordon Goodman Memorial Lecture, to be held by Professor Sir Andy Haines on 15 September. The lecture will focus on a crucial topic: the direct and indirect ways in which climate change impacts human health, and solutions that can yield multiple co-benefits for people and our environment.

Climate change and health: developing evidence for action

Climate change will have far-reaching and potentially catastrophic effects on health, with the largest burden falling on the poor, who have contributed least to emissions. The effects of climate change on health may be direct, for example from extreme heat. Effects can also be mediated through ecosystems, such as changes in the incidence and distribution of vector–borne diseases, including dengue and malaria, or through socioeconomic pathways such as impoverishment and population displacement.

Declines in the production of vegetables, legumes, and fruit could increase the risks of non-communicable diseases. Severe childhood stunting in Africa and South Asia will also likely increase markedly. Floods and droughts can have pervasive impacts, and pre-existing illnesses such as HIV can increase vulnerability, for example to undernutrition as a result of droughts. Heat stress reduces the capacity for physical labour and will therefore diminish the income of already deprived populations. 

 Many policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions can yield near term improvements in human health. Cutting fossil fuel combustion can reduce deaths from ambient air pollution, and increased walking and cycling can reduce both air pollution and the incidence of diseases related to physical inactivity.

Providing clean, affordable energy can also reduce deaths from household air pollution. Reduced consumption of animal products in high consuming populations, and increased consumption of fruit, vegetables, and seeds, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health. Valuing these co-benefits can make climate policies more attractive to decision makers and incentivise climate action. 

Professor Sir Andy Haines

Sir Andy Haines is Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health, Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Professor Sir Andy Haines currently co-chairs the Inter Academy Partnership (consisting of 140 science academies worldwide) working group on climate change and health and is also co-chairing the Lancet Pathfinder Initiative on health in the zero-carbon economy.

He chaired the Scientific Advisory Panel for the 2013 WHO World Health Report, the Rockefeller/Lancet Commission on Planetary Health (2014–15) and the European Academies Science Advisory Council working group on climate change and health (2018–19).

Read more about Professor Haines

Agenda

15:00 Welcome and introduction

• Åsa Persson, Deputy Director, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).
• Dan Larhammar, President, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
• Astrid Söderbergh Widding, President, Stockholm University.

15:10 Climate change and health: developing evidence for action

• Sir Andy Haines, Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health, Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

15:40 Panel discussion and audience Q&A

Moderated by:

• Anders Nordström, Ambassador for Global Health at Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.

Panel members:

• Maria Neira, Director, Public Health and the Environment Department, World Health Organization.
• Sir Andy Haines, Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health, Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
• Omnia El Omrani, Liaison Officer for Public Health Issues, International Federation of Medical Students’ Association.
• Sarah Dickin, Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Co-lead SEI Initiative on Sustainable Sanitation.
• Brama Kone, Associate Professor, Lecturer-Researcher of Public Health, the University Peleforo Gon Coulibaly of Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire & an associate Researcher and Project Leader, the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques in Côte d’Ivoire.
• Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna, Research Leader, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

16:25 Concluding remarks

• Åsa Persson, Deputy Director, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

16:30 End of the Gordon Goodman Memorial Lecture

16:30-17:00 Closed media briefing with Sir Andy Haines. By invitation only.

For further information, please contact:

Ylva Rylander, Communications Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)+46 73 150 33 84 ylva.rylander@sei.org @YlvaSEI

Venni Arra, Communications Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) +46 73 707 3500 venni.arra@sei.org

Peter Brandén, Programme Coordinator, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences +46 70 673 93 65, peter.branden@kva.se

Per Larsson, Communications Officer, Stockholm University +46 70 581 1213, per.larsson@su.se

About the Gordon Goodman Memorial Lecture

This annual memorial lecture is held in honour of Gordon Goodman, founding director of the Beijer Institute at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1977–1989) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (1989–1991).

Organizers

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has as its aim to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society.

Stockholm Environment Institute is an international non-profit research and policy organization that tackles environment and development challenges. We connect science and decision-making to develop solutions for a sustainable future for all.

Stockholm University is one of Europe's leading centres for higher education and research.