new york state department of health climate change and public health mitigation, adaptation and...

New York State Department of Health

CLIMATE CHANGE and

PUBLIC HEALTH

Mitigation, Adaptation and Research in New York State


What is Climate Change?• “Any significant change in measures of climate,

such as temperature, precipitation, wind, and other weather patterns, lasting for decades or longer.”

• Overwhelming consensus of scientific studies is that climate change is human caused and due to increases in greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuel.

• Climate change is occurring now, in New York and around the globe.


Atmospheric concentrations of important long-lived greenhouse gases over the last 2,000 years. Increases since about 1750 are attributed to human activities in the industrial era. Concentration units are parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb), indicating the number of molecules of the greenhouse gas per million or billion air molecules, respectively, in an atmospheric sample.

(Source: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007)


Global Emissions of Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases, 1970 to 2004 (Source: IPCC. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers, Figure SPM3, p.5.)


Climate Change Indicators


Climate Change Indicators

(Source: The State of the Climate Highlights: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2009.)


Climate Risks in NYS

• Stronger, longer heat waves

• More frequent/heavy precipitation events

• More frequent/severe droughts

• More frequent severe weather events

• Sea level rise/coastal flooding


Public Health Consequences

• Increase in heat-related morbidity/mortality

• Increase in vector-, water- and food-borne disease

• Loss of water supply and water quality

• Outcomes associated with loss of electricity

• Increase in adverse health outcomes associated with air pollution (e.g., asthma, COPD)


Public Health Consequences• Increase in health conditions associated with

allergens

• Effects on the food supply

• Evacuation of health care facilities

• Disrupted access to emergency/routine medical care

• Mental/emotional health consequences


Climate Justice/Climate Gap• Everyone is at risk, but greatest health burdens

likely to fall on those with lowest socioeconomic status1

– Ethnic/racial minorities & people who have low incomes

• CA Climate Adaptation Strategy2 describes inequities in context of extreme heat:

- Chronic illness - Urban heat islands

- Air conditioning access - Occupation

- Fear of crime1CCSP (Climate Change Science Program). 2008. Analyses of the effects of global change on human health and welfare and human systems. Final

Report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.6. Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Gamble, JL (ed.), Ebi, KL, Sussman, FG, Wilbanks, TJ (Authors). Washington, DC: US Environmental Protection Agency.

2Available at: http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/adaptation/


Ten Essential Services of Public Health

Source: Frumkin, H, Hess, J, Luber, G, Malilay, J, McGeehin, M. 2008. Climate change: The public health response. American Journal of Public Health 98(3): 435-445.


Mitigation & Adaptation

• Mitigation: actions/policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions– “40 by 30” and “80 by 50”

• Adaptation: actions/policies to prepare for climate change, to reduce its impacts and to take advantage of new opportunities.– occurs at individual, community,

organizational, institutional levels– calls for incorporating climate change

information into planning & decision making


Adaptation

“As climate change has become a certainty, so has the need for public health action to

anticipate, manage, and ameliorate the health burdens it will impose”

(Source: Frumkin, H, Hess, J, Luber, G, Malilay, J, McGeehin, M. 2008. Climate change: The public health response. American Journal of Public Health 98(3): 435-445.)


Actions/Initiatives/Programs

• NYS Climate Action Plan (Interim)

• NYS Sea Level Rise Task Force

• NYC

• NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

• NYS Energy Research and Development Authority

• Research and Grants


NYS Climate Action Plan

• Required by Executive Order (EO 24, 2008)• EO 24 established NYS Climate Action Council• NYS CAP (Interim Report) issued 11/10• CAP addresses mitigation and adaptation• Multiple “sectors” addressed:

– Public Health– Agriculture– Transportation– etc.


NYS CAP: Public Health Adaptation Recommendations

• Improve/establish robust mechanisms to reduce the potential for heat-related morbidity and mortality in New York State

• Educate/empower/engage all New Yorkers to foster a better understanding of the public health consequences of climate change and take actions to reduce/eliminate those consequences

• Assess and improve the capacity of existing public health preparedness, response, and recovery programs to respond to climate-related impacts and direct resources where needed

• Build community resilience and integrated public health capacity to reduce human health impacts of climate change


NYS CAP: Public Health Adaptation Recommendations

• Evaluate and enhance, as necessary, the capacity of existing surveillance programs for vector-, food-, and water-borne diseases and disease-causing agents to monitor and respond to the anticipated climate change-related increase in such public health threats

• Assess and prepare for the significant public health risks associated with hazards related to sea level rise

• Conduct and support research on the public health consequences of climate change and their effective incorporation into adaptation strategies


NYS Sea Level Rise Task Force• Established in 2007 by NYS Legislature

• Charged with assessing the impacts of rising seas on the state’s coastlines, and recommending protective and adaptive measures

• Final report to the NYS Legislature issued 12/31/10

• Issues addressed included:– Public works/infrastructure– Effects on communities (public health, loss of shelter, disrupted

livelihoods and loss of economic vitality, quality of life and community cohesion)

• Public health recommendation:“Undertake a comprehensive assessment of the public health risks associated with sea level rise, coastal hazards and climate change including compromised indoor air quality, effects on drinking water, posttraumatic stress and other mental health problems, increases in disease vectors, impaired access to health care, and loss of reliable access to food and medical supplies.”


NYS DEC

• Office of Climate Change– Climate Science and Technology– Climate Programs and Partnerships

• Climate Smart Communities – Partnership between NYS and local communities “to

lower greenhouse gases and save taxpayer dollars through climate smart actions that also promote community health and safety, affordability, economic strength and quality of life.”


NYSERDA• ClimAID: The Integrated Assessment for

Effective Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in New York State– Goal of providing decision makers with information on

the state’s vulnerability to climate change and to facilitate developing adaptation strategies

– Authored by university and research scientists (e.g., Columbia University, City University of New York, Cornell University)

– Covers range of “sectors” (public health, agriculture, ecosystems, etc.)

– Draft report issued 11/01/10

• Adaptation and mitigation research funding


NYC• PlaNYC – A comprehensive sustainability plan

for NYC’s future

• Initiatives related to climate change include:– Expanding greenspace and city-wide tree planting– Creating public plazas in all communities– Promoting use of cleaner burning heating fuels– Reducing motor vehicle emissions


Research/Grants• “Climate Variability/Change and the Risks of Under-

Studied Adverse Health Outcomes” (CDC). Goals:

– To identify which specific diseases are related to individual weather factors including assessment of:

• Effects of extreme events and climate variability on health outcomes

• Interactive effects of air pollutants

• Vulnerable populations

– To evaluate utility and efficacy of a composite weather indicator in the study of health effects of weather

– To establish a climate-health tracking system and develop public health communication/education strategies

• DOH contact: Shao Lin ([email protected])


Evidence of Increasing Warming and Wetness in NYS (1900- 2008)

Supported in part by Grant #5U01EH000396-01 (NY) National Center for Environmental Health, Center for Disease Control and Grant # 5U38EH000184-05 National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The meteorological data are provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research which is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation.


Research/Grants • “Developing Public Health Capacity and

Adaptations to Reduce Human Health Effects of Climate Change in New York State” (CDC)

• Overarching goal is to leverage existing programmatic initiatives to reduce human health effects of climate change by:– Enhancing assessment– Expanding planning– Building capacity

• DOH contact: Kathleen Clancy ([email protected])


SummaryClimate change:

– is real

– is happening now

– poses significant public health threats

There is an urgent need for planning and action


Some Information Resources

• Climate Literacy. The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences http://downloads.climatescience.gov/Literacy/Climate%20Literacy%20Booklet%20Hi-Res.pdf

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change http://www.ipcc.ch/

• NYSERDA’s ClimAID Projecthttp://www.nyserda.org/programs/environment/emep/clim-aid-synthesis-draft.pdf

• NYS Climate Action Planhttp://www.nyclimatechange.us/InterimReport.cfm


Some Information Resources

• NYS Sea Level Rise Task Forcehttp://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/45202.html

• NYS DEC Office of Climate Changehttp://www.dec.ny.gov/about/43166.html

• NYC – PlaNYC (climate change)http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/plan/climate.shtml

• APHA Webinar Series: “Climate Change: Mastering the Public Health Role”

http://www.apha-environment.org/

new york state department of health climate change and public health mitigation, adaptation and...

Documents

human health

new york state slide

health conditions

climate highlights

measures of climate

public health mitigation

adverse health outcomes

significant change