Climate Change & Health for Policy-Makers

This MOOC was developed by four eminent scientists who together authored the health chapter in the recent 5th Assessment report of the IPCC. They offer you a short crash-course into the topic of climate change, tailored to senior policy-makers and negotiators of climate agreements, particularly as an input into the climate conference COP21 in Paris in December this year.

This 1 week MOOC requires 3 hours of investment time and provides hard evidence for four key arguments as to why health is and should be central in climate policy.

Two positive arguments:
1. Health is a positive motivator, a driving force for citizens and policy-makers to care about and act on climate change.
2. The huge health co-benefits must enter the risk-benefit calculations.

However, two arguments pertain to the restrictions that our health and physiology impose on humans under climate change, particularly in a world that is +4°C warmer:
1. There are health limits to adaptation.
2. Decreased work productivity in hot countries.

Finally, we should consider health as an indicator, not only for sustainable development, but also for climate policy.