1. Communications Strategy –Disseminate knowledge of climate impacts to the health community and the public –(Physicians, Public Health Departments, General Public) Develop and coordinate multi-agency organizational structures to address climate change and health ˜Improve Institutional Adaptive Capacity –Encourage more proactive planning for climate change (in an already overextended health care system!) Regional Scale Climate Modelling Opportunities to Improve Adaptive Capacity

2. Goal: Help Canadians cope with the effects of climate change on their health facilitate knowledge development on climate change and health impacts use the knowledge to adapt public health policies to protect public health examine the health benefits and costs of mitigation technology measures (e.g., emissions trading, sealed homes) CCHO acts as the Health Node for C-CIARN Climate Change and Health Office

3. CANADA'S HEALTH IMPACTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY - Cold and heat related illnesses - Respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses - Increased occupational health risks - Damaged public health infrastructure - Injuries and illnesses - Social and mental health stress due to disasters - Occupational health hazards - Preparedness and population displacement - Changed exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollutants and allergens - Asthma and other respiratory diseases - Heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases - Cancer - Enteric diseases and contaminants - Changed patterns of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens carried by mosquitos, ticks and other vectors - Skin damage and skin cancer - Cataracts - Disturbed immune function - Seniors - Children - Poor health - Low income and homeless - Traditional populations - Disabled - Immigrant populations - Changed determinants of health & well-being - Global burden of disease - Vulnerability of community economies - Health and social co-benefits and risks of GHG reduction technologies Temperature-related morbidity and mortality Health effects of extreme weather events Air pollution-related health effects Water- and food-borne contamination Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases Health effects of stratospheric ozone depletion Population vulnerabilities in rural and urban communities Health and socio-economic impacts on community health & well-being Health Concerns Examples of Health Vulnerabilities

4. Institute of Population Health – Expert Panel Report  Climate change poses significant health risks, now and in the future  Climate change will place greater demands on the social infrastructure supporting public health and well-being  The health and social impacts will result in significant costs to Canadian society, including increased health care costs, loss of productivity, and damages to the well-being of Canadians  Impacts and capacity to respond will vary by region  Models for projecting the direct health effects of climate change require further development in order to provide quantitative estimates of the magnitude of the impacts

5. Costs to Society of Climate Variability 1998 Ice Storm – 600 000 people evacuated, 28 deaths, 945 injuries, $7 billion in damages 1997 Red River Flood – 25 000 people evacuated, $815 million in damages From 1991 - 2001, natural disasters cost Canadian governments over $13 billion to repair infrastructure and properties after natural disasters Contamination of drinking water and recreational waters costs Canadian communities approximately $300 million annually – climate change is expected to impact on the quality of drinking water

6. Public Health Implications in Local Communities -food security and nutrition -water quality/air quality -disease monitoring and surveillance -disaster preparedness and relief -housing and shelter -education and awareness (sun protection) -healthy child development - emergency services (community health centres) - mental health

7. What can be done to protect public health in a changing climate? Mitigate – reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change and variability (I.e., Kyoto Protocol is first step) Build Knowledge – be informed of health impacts of climate change and relevance to public health programs Plan and Adapt – adjust public health policies to account for climate changes and minimize the impact on health The Need for a Public Health Response

8. What is Needed? Knowledge need to understand the likely impacts of climate change on health and the effectiveness of existing adaptation strategies Awareness need to develop awareness of the threats from climate change and the need for action Actionneed to begin planning and then implementing effective adaptation strategies Integration Bring health perspective to other municipal activities (e.g., transportation, urban planning, greencover, social services, affordable housing, agriculture, etc.) The Public Health Response

9. Adaptation in Action Linking Weather to Health in the U.K.: Collaboration between the UK Meteorological Office and the National Health Services to use weather and climate data to help predict fluctuations in workload for health service providers Forecasts give twice weekly projected emergency admissions by broad diagnoses and age group Forecasts have had up to an 80% success rate, and allow hospitals to appropriately schedule staff hours and elective surgeries Civil Security in Quebec: Municipal emergency response plans developed to meet the basic needs of residents during natural disasters National emergency preparedness plan integrates resources of firefighters, officers, Met Office, OCIPEP, Red Cross, Hydro-Quebec

10. Public health communities in Canada need information on how climate change will affect health, their capacity to adapt and how best to adapt Our plan: Evaluating current public health activities related to climate change Developing future scenarios of climate change-related health impacts Compiling best practices for adapting to climate change across Canada Meeting Public Health Needs

11. Purpose : assist users in understanding health issues related to climate change and in communicating the issues to colleagues and decision-makers Toolkit will be provided to Medical Officers of Health, Directors of Public Health, key public health organizations Toolkit has 3 major sections (1) Understanding the Impacts (2) Public Health Response (3) Building Awareness Status: Final version expected Spring 2003 Information Toolkit

12. Collaboration between C-CIARN and public health sector Developing case studies and assessing capacity to adapt CCHO – “One Stop Information Resource for Health” CCHO website launch February, 2003: Funding sources for climate change science and policy research Potential adaptation measures and case studies Latest scientific research findings Bibliography of public health adaptation literature climatinfo@hc-sc.gc.ca www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cc (613) 954-0161 Next Steps

13. Annex 1: Health Issue Research Networks Health ConcernsOrganization Health effects of extreme weather events Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction http://www.iclr.org Air pollution-related health effectsNew Brunswick Lung Association http://www.nb.lung.ca/home.html Food and water-borne contaminationHealth Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/new_e.html Vector-borne and zoonotic diseasesHealth Canada’s Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (web address as above) Population vulnerability in communitiesCentre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université (Québec) http://www.chuq.qc.ca/oms Socio-economic impacts on community health and well-being International Institute For Sustainable Development http://www.iisd.org/climate/

14. Reduce the stress imposed by climate change especially on vulnerable individuals Reduce the stressors that contribute to the cumulative impact of climate change Contribute to efforts that will minimize climate change www.c-ciarn-ontario.ca Local Action in Communities: