The need for informed climate-health governance

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the existing opportunity to educate future health professionals on the health impacts of climate change in order to facilitate more informed planning and health governance.

The authors provide context for climate and health education and how it can lead to better-informed health governance, discuss how health can be used to motivate climate action, and provide examples of climate and health governance. In addition, they outline the climate and health educational components needed in health profession curricula and provide an example of an effort currently being implemented to support and coordinate climate and health education at health professions institutions.

Although action to address the health impacts of climate change is taking place, more climate-health policy and informed governance is needed. In addition, climate and health education must be included in the curricula of all health professions institutions to provide critical know-how on this topic.

The authors seek to advance the discussion around the need for climate and health education in schools and programs of public health, medicine, and nursing to better prepare students for their future roles as health practitioners.