Launching the initiative on Transforming Systems for Climate & Health
Climate change is the defining health challenge of our time—and addressing it requires more than cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Rising global temperatures, extreme weather, and environmental degradation are already impacting human well-being on an unprecedented scale. To respond to this challenge, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has launched the initiative on Transforming Systems for Climate & Health.
In a newly published Lancet comment, NAM President Victor Dzau, Program Director Michele Toplitz, and Program Officer Noah Duff (among other international experts) call for health to be at the center of global climate strategies. In it, they argue that, too often, climate interventions focus narrowly on emissions targets. This approach misses the life-saving benefits climate action can deliver—from cleaner air to healthier, more resilient communities—in the near and longer term.
The NAM initiative seeks to systematically identify integrated strategies that simultaneously reduce emissions, deliver public health gains, promote equity, and foster economic and societal resilience. By addressing the interconnected systems that drive environmental, economic, and health outcomes, the initiative will chart a path toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Explore how the NAM is shaping action on climate and health across sectors and systems worldwide.
