Spurring action on health and climate change

When Professor Anthony Costello (then Director of the UCL Centre for International Health Development) collaborated with The Lancet, the result was a 2009 report on "Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change".

The UCL Grand Challenge of Global Health provided funding and staff resources to support this initiative.

In order to further progress this work, a Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change was then established. The Commission brought together more than 45 European and Chinese academics and experts including from UCL, Tsinghua University, Umea University and the University of Exeter.

The UCL Grand Challenge of Global Health was one of eight funders of the Commission. In addition, the Global Health Coordinator and a Communications Assistant provided in-kind support to the Commission. 

This led to the publication of the report, "Health and climate change: Policy responses to protect public health".

To monitor progress on the climate change policies to promote health recommended by the Commission, an independent body, Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change, was established. The UCL Grand Challenge of Global Health is working closely with the Countdown initiative to help promote its activities, which included the London launch of Countdown at the 2016 UCL Lancet Lecture on Health and Climate Change.