PHLP has released an Action Plan that represents an important initial assessment of public health’s abilities and limitations to fully engage in climate change work as well as a preliminary set of recommended actions. It is a synthesis of the priorities and strategies developed during a one-day multi-disciplinary gathering where more than 150 participants exchanged ideas on how to better engage public health networks and agencies in climate change work.

A consistent theme running throughout this plan is the importance of pursuing strategies that result in “co-benefits”: outcomes that both improve health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Such an approach alters the economic calculus of climate change policy by incorporating previously unaccounted for health care savings and costs associated with different greenhouse gas reduction measures. It also promotes outcomes that are more local, timely, and personal with the hope that this will spur more widespread and immediate action on global warming.

PHLP hopes this plan and proposed next steps will inspire and mobilize the public health community and its partners to participate in the critically important processes of climate change planning and policy making. We offer this plan as the starting place from which a robust set of health-based climate change strategies can evolve.