This presentation will review the ways in which climate change threatens human wellbeing. Bearing in mind the interdependence of mental and physical health, we will start with an overview of health impacts in general. We will then go into more detail about the different ways in which climate change can affect mental health, summarizing recent research on direct, indirect, and vicarious impacts. Finally, we will draw from some Canadian research to describe specific examples of communities where mental health has been affected by events associated with climate change.
Kristie Ebi has been conducting research on the health risks of climate variability and change for over 30 years, focusing on estimating current and future health risks of climate change; designing adaptation policies and measures to reduce these risks in multi-stressor environments; and quantifying the health co-benefits of mitigation policies. She has worked with multiple countries worldwide in assessing their vulnerability and implementing adaptation measures. She was a lead author for the 6th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment cycle; edited four books on aspects of climate change; and has more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
Susan Clayton is the Whitmore-Williams Professor and Chair of Psychology at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Dr. Clayton’s research examines people’s relationship with the natural environment, how it is socially constructed, and how a healthy relationship with nature can be promoted. She has written about the effects of climate change on mental health and has developed a scale to assess climate anxiety. She is author or editor of six books, including Identity and the Natural Environment, Conservation Psychology, and Psychology and Climate Change, and is currently the editor of the Cambridge Elements series in Applied Social Psychology. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the International Association of Applied Psychology, she was a lead author on the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Sherilee Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health, Kule Scholar, and Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Her research investigates associations between weather, environment, and health equity in the context of climate change, and she collaborates with partners across sectors to prioritize climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research. She was a Lead Author on two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports; served on the Gender Task Group for the IPCC; Lead Author on Health Canada's 2022 Climate Change and Health Assessment; and Co-chaired the Government of Canada's Health and Wellbeing Advisory Table for the National Adaptation Strategy.
