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The state of knowledge in brief
The effects of climate change on health are already being felt today and can be
classified as an increasing threat to health in Austria. The most severe and farreaching
effects to be expected are health impacts due to heat. Also changes
in ecosystems which influence the distribution, frequency, types and severity of
pollen allergies and vector-borne infectious diseases and alter the patterns of
precipitation and storms will threaten health. Furthermore, changing demographic
structure and composition including population aging and migration can increase
the number of people exposed to health risks. The health impacts of climate
change are not distributed evenly across population sub-groups as older people,
for instance, are physiologically more susceptible to extreme heat whilst migrants
with lower socioeconomic resources dispose of a reduced adaptive capacity.
However, there are many options for action to mitigate the health effects of climate
change and reduce vulnerability. These range from better information of hardto-
reach people to urban planning measures in the case of increasing heat, better
management of highly allergenic plants as well as an integrated event documentation
of extreme weather events for more targeted measures with strengthened
self-provisioning. For the early detection of infectious diseases, health competencies
of the population and health personnel must be improved and climate-related
health inequalities can also be avoided by improving health literacy.
At the same time, efforts to mitigate climate change can also yield health benefits
and these health co-benefits of climate change mitigation should be emphasised
when promoting climate actions. In terms of nutrition, reducing excessive consumption
of meat can both improve health and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. With respect to mobility, a shift towards more active mobility such as
walking and cycling and public transport, especially in cities, reduces healthrelated
pollutants and noise pollution, encourages healthy movement and reduces
GHG emissions. Reduction of climate-relevant air traffic also diminishes adverse
health effects. With regard to housing, a large proportion of single-family and
duplex houses in newly developed residential areas is to be challenged as it uses
a lot of space, materials and energy. Attractive apartment buildings as an alternative
to a house in a green area require funding and promotion by health-enhancing
and climate-friendly urban planning. Thermal renovation reduces the heat
stress during the summer half-year. Likewise, health-care activities contribute to
climate change and reducing the carbon footprint of the healthcare sector is
necessary. In fact, pharmaceutical products are responsible for a major share of
the carbon footprint. Avoiding unnecessary diagnostics and therapies, for instance,
can reduce GHG emissions, risks for patients and health-related costs.
To initiate a transformation in the intersection of climate and health requires
cross-policy cooperation of climate and health policy and is an appealing opportunity
to simultaneously implement Austria’s Health Targets, the Paris Climate
Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. With transformation
research and research-led teaching, science can accelerate transformative
development paths and foster new interdisciplinary solutions to problems.
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