Lancet Countdown 2020 report calls for governments to align global COVID-19 recovery with response to climate change
The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change represent converging challenges to which no continent, country or community is immune. Aligning the global recovery from COVID-19 with our response to climate change offers a triple win: protect public health, promote a sustainable economy and preserve our planet.
This is according to a new report by the Lancet Countdown initiative, an international, multi-disciplinary research collaboration that tracks the evolving public health impacts of climate change and publishes its findings annually in The Lancet medical journal ahead of the United Nations climate change negotiations.
The Lancet Countdown 2020 report, launched on 3 December 2020, tracks the links between health and climate change across 43 indicators in five domains:
- climate change impacts, exposures and vulnerabilities;
- adaptation, planning and resilience for health;
- mitigation actions and health co-benefits;
- economics and finance; and
- public and political engagement.
The report represents the findings and consensus of the 35 leading academic institutions and United Nations agencies that make up the Lancet Countdown initiative, and draws on the expertise of climate scientists, geographers, engineers, experts in energy, food and transport, economists, social and political scientists, data scientists, public health professionals and doctors.
Among the report’s co-authors is Delia Grace, professor of food safety systems at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich and contributing scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute.
Visit the Lancet Countdown 2020 website to read thematic summaries and key findings of the report. The full text of the report is available for free via The Lancet (you will need to create a free account with The Lancet).
