Climate Change and Health

Climate change is currently at the center of the world’s attention, with delegations from more than 190 countries meeting in Paris for the COP21 to negotiate an agreement how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep global warming under 2°C.

There are not many world citizens who do not have their children’s and their own health as a top priority. So why is health not more prominent topic in the debate on climate change and its impacts? We hear a lot about polar bears and smokestacks in the media, but very little on the many and the large health impacts of climate change. With this MOOC, we want to provide state-of-the art evidence of the link between climate change and the health of populations.

Chapter 1: What is climate change and how can it affect health?
Chapter 2: What health effects do we expect?
Chapter 3: Reducing emissions - in health terms: prevention
Chapter 4: The good news: doing something to reduce emissions is good for your health
Chapter 5: Adapting to the effects of already occurring climate change - "therapy"
Outlook: A climate friendly world is healthier, more equitable, sustainable and fun