Planning actions of the NUA to address climate change-induced health risks and their implications (1)

Summary

Global climate change is the most significant health threat facing humankind in the 21st century. A large number of studies have shown that climate change has negative impacts on health in many ways, and there is still a lack of research on planning responses to this issue in China. It can be seen that how to plan and respond to the health risks caused by climate change is essential for implementing the New Urban Agenda and improving public health in China. Based on the analysis of direct and indirect health risks caused by climate change, the article analyzes the planning actions taken by foreign countries in response to the New Urban Agenda in the face of health risks caused by climate change, taking New York （USA）， London （UK） and Rotterdam （Netherlands） as examples, and proposes inspirations for responding to health risks caused by climate change in China, with a view to providing a reference for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda in the future.

Keywords 

climate change; health risks; planning responses; New Urban Agenda; health levels; planning actions

The latest report released by the World Meteorological Organization shows that global temperatures rose by 1.1°C from 2015 to 2019 compared to the pre-industrial era and by 0.2°C compared to 2010 to 2014, while extreme weather such as heat, floods, and droughts due to warming are frequent across the globe, making the climate situation critical. Since 2009, when the Lancet and the University College London Commission on Global Health called climate change the greatest global health threat of the 21st century, research on climate change-induced health risks has been increasing.On 17 October 2016, the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development was held in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, and the Conference adopted the New Urban Agenda, a milestone document, which identifies climate and health as two of the key topics, points out their interconnectedness, and proposes a corresponding development vision and concrete means of implementation. If the New Urban Agenda is implemented in urban spatial planning, it will have far-reaching implications for the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the improvement of the health of the global population.

At present, China's research on climate change-induced health risks is mainly focused on the medical field, involving the correlation between climate change and public health and health impact assessment; the research on risk response is more concerned with the formulation of climate change mitigation policies and the construction of public health service system and has not yet considered the integration of research results on climate change-induced health risks with urban spatial planning and design decisions. The research on risk response has focused more on the formulation of climate change mitigation policies and the construction of public health service systems. Therefore, it is important to clarify the health risks caused by climate change and their mechanisms and learn from the experience of foreign countries in responding to the New Urban Agenda when facing the health risks caused by climate change, in order to promote the sustainable development of China and build "Healthy China 2030".

1 Types of health risks arising from climate change

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change defines climate change as "any change in climate based on natural variability or resulting from human activities." Global climate change can bring about extreme weather events such as heatwaves, cold waves, droughts, floods, and storms, which can directly or indirectly pose certain health risks to humans. The health risks associated with climate change are also somewhat inequitable, as different individuals have different sensitivities and tolerance levels to climate change-induced health risks.

1.1 Direct health risks

The direct health risk is the risk of human morbidity or mortality as a direct result of disasters caused by extreme weather events brought about by climate change. Research confirms that heat waves associated with global warming can lead to heat stress, heat stroke, acute kidney injury, and congestive heart failure; that warmer temperatures increase morbidity and mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases; that climate change also leads to increased adaptation to the spread of climate-sensitive infectious diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, cholera, and other pathogenic Vibrio species; and that the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and storms also contribute to increased injury and mortality in populations. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods and storms, also contribute to increased injury and mortality rates among populations.

1.2 Indirect health risks

Climate change indirectly affects human health through climate hazards that disrupt the urban and rural habitats in which humans live, thereby leading to health risks. Physical environmental constraints brought about by climate change can reduce the physical activity levels of the population, and insufficient physical activity is considered to be an important cause of the obesity and chronic cardiovascular disease epidemics. At the same time, climate hazards can disrupt human life systems （e.g. transportation systems, public space systems, etc.）， and the resulting economic losses and loss of life can have a negative impact on public mental health.

1.3 Health equity risks

Among the mechanisms of climate change-induced health risks, some scholars have focused on the different sensitivity and tolerance of different individual characteristics （e.g. age, gender, socio-economic status） and locations to climate change-induced health risks. On the one hand, the elderly population, women, children, people with chronic diseases and people working outdoors are vulnerable to this risk, and people living in rural areas and those with low socioeconomic status are more likely to face health risks due to unequal access to urban and rural health care, poor nutrition or excessive stress in life and high air pollution. On the other hand, this inequity is one of the main causes of human migration. The physical and mental health of migrants can be potentially affected, both directly and indirectly, as a result of the drivers of climate change.

Source：<https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/waTeo8GvMFyXtcP9co8sEw>

Planning actions of the New Urban Agenda to address climate change-induced health risks and their implications，Planners，2021（7）

Translated by Chen Yan