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.
Building 1, Room 1312
Research
We tackle issues that are essential for building healthy, just, and sustainable communities. Through rigorous research, we evaluate and advance solutions that will enable the healthiest, most equitable path forward, especially for communities that are most vulnerable to climate change.
Our work addresses climate impacts at every level: individuals; health care systems; communities and cities; and national and global policy.
Individuals
Climate change poses a serious threat to everyone’s health, especially to children, older adults, people with chronic medical conditions, and people living in under-resourced communities.
We’re working to find solutions that keep people healthy and provide education and resources about how climate impacts health and actions everyone can take to stay safe.
We’re testing whether air purifiers can help by reducing harmful particles in the air, which could offer a non-drug way to improve symptoms and lung health.
Health care systems
As climate change makes extreme weather like wildfires and heat waves more frequent and intense, health care systems need to be ready for emerging threats to patients’ health. We work with hospitals, frontline clinics, and health care providers to identify how fossil fuel pollution and climate change impact patient health and care delivery. Together, we develop and evaluate strategies to protect patients and ensure health systems are resilient to climate challenges.
Climate shocks including heat waves, wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding are disrupting health care delivery and harming patients. We work with frontline health clinics that serve highly impacted communities to develop and deploy resources that can safeguard their patients’ health.
We develop and evaluate curricula that train health professionals to identify and address the health impacts of climate change in their patients.
Communities and cities
Communities and cities are dynamic spaces where innovative climate solutions can be developed, tested, and scaled. We collaborate with residents, local leaders, and organizations in the U.S. and around the world to create resilient and equitable neighborhoods. By working together, we find the most effective strategies to help communities withstand climate impacts and keep their neighbors safe.
We’re working with community stakeholders to understand how climate hazards like heat, flooding, pollution, and chemical exposures impact the health of communities in the Mystic River Watershed and develop tools to help decision makers protect those most at risk.
By building artificial reefs and seeding them with local marine life, we aim to increase the volume of fish that fisheries are able to produce in Madagascar.
We’re working in Indian coastal communities that are repeatedly impacted by extreme weather to build community-driven climate solutions.
Community voices are often missing from climate and health solutions. We center community input to ensure interventions truly address local needs and support lasting change.
We are evaluating tailored interventions to address heat stress in vulnerable populations in Boston, South Africa, and Madagascar.
The La Fire Health Study is a 10-year project looking at which pollutants are in the air, where they are present, and how they affect people’s lungs, brains, hearts, and overall health.
National and global policy
Our research helps policymakers understand the health impacts of fossil fuel pollution and develop evidence-based, equitable climate policies that prioritize public health. By studying how climate change affects population health and conducting benefit-cost analyses of interventions, we shape policy and keep health central to climate solutions.
CHAIR-India links environmental data to health datasets to study the impact of air pollution and temperature on health in rural and urban areas across India.
We’re looking at how ecological transformations impact health in Madagascar and Nepal, using national health system data to create research data platforms that will enable adaptation and preparedness efforts in the face of climate change.
We’re helping decision makers compare policies and interventions to determine which climate and health solutions may be most beneficial.
Check out our latest work
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Negative impacts of burning natural gas and biomass have surpassed coal generation in many states
Study shows burning natural gas, biomass, & wood now has greater health impacts than coal in many states. Learn about more potential ongoing trends in energy pollution.
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Pennsylvania setback regulations for fracking do not prevent setback incidents
PA’s setback regulations fail to prevent incidents near fracking or UNG wells, posing risks to nearby residents.
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The medical response to climate change
Explore five pillars for the medical response to climate change: education, research, preparedness, decarbonization, and advocacy. Learn how healthcare can adapt and respond.
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Fossil fuel air pollution responsible for 1 in 5 deaths worldwide
Fossil fuel combustion is linked to premature deaths from fine particulate pollution.
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Adding A Climate Lens To Health Policy In The United States
Explore strategies for integrating climate action into U.S. health policy to improve resilience, equity, and patient care. Learn how to build a climate-ready health system.
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2020 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: U.S. Policy Report
The 2020 Lancet Countdown U.S. Policy Report reveals how climate change and COVID-19 converge to worsen health inequities.
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Challenges and opportunities to sustainably scale up surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia care globally
Explore strategies to sustainably scale up surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia care, reducing emissions and addressing health equity and social justice issues globally.
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Clean Energy Futures Project shows low or zero carbon emissions policies for the electricity sector are achievable with climate and health benefits by 2040 to 2050
Achieving low or zero carbon emissions by 2050 is possible with clean energy policies, offering substantial climate and health benefits, according to Clean Energy Futures.
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Solutions for preventing the next pandemic
Discover cost-effective solutions to prevent future pandemics, focusing on deforestation prevention and wildlife trade regulation.
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The climate crisis and COVID-19—A major threat to the pandemic response
Strategies for how local communities and states can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission during climate-related extreme events like heat waves, hurricanes, and wildfires. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise…
Past Projects
Browse a selection of issues we’ve researched to guide decision makers in crafting policies and programs that improve health in climate change and infectious disease, fossil fuels and health, natural gas and gas stoves, clean energy and health, and climate policies and health.
