Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment
We seek climate solutions that can provide for a healthier and more just world today and a livable future for our children.
665 Huntington Avenue
Building 1, Room 1312
Boston, MA 02115
What we do
By evaluating solutions, we help inform decision makers about which climate actions are most impactful to improve health and health equity in communities around the world.
When our Center was founded nearly 30 years ago (originally at Harvard Medical School) by two physicians, Drs. Eric Chivian and Paul Epstein, we became the first center based at a medical school to focus on the impact of climate change on human health. In 1997, our Center published an open letter signed by 400 physicians and health professionals from 30 countries—in a full-page ad in the The New York Times—to warn world leaders attending the Kyoto Summit of the health effects they could expect if climate change was left unchecked.
Since then, we have been at the forefront of efforts to promote climate solutions that protect health: From our landmark study that demonstrates the full cost of coal across the life cycle, to our research on toxics in gas stoves and the health benefits of clean energy, to our educational programs reaching students around the world, we have worked to elucidate how energy use, planetary health, and human health are interdependent.
Turning Evidence into Action Through Solutions-Oriented Research
We support the design of climate actions that maximize health benefits, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. We conduct research to inform decision makers—including health care practitioners, clinic and hospital administrators, community leaders, and policymakers—about the impacts of potential climate solutions, and convene researchers from across disciplines to tackle complex climate challenges.
Training Climate Leaders Through Education
We provide training, mentoring, skills-based workshops, and more for students and health professionals. Projects include a climate change and planetary health concentration, a fellowship program for researchers and clinicians, and an annual Youth Climate Summit for high school students.
Changing the Climate Narrative Through Targeted Outreach
We work with the media, content creators, and key stakeholders to make climate change personal, bring people together, and promote effective climate actions for people and decision makers around the world.