Overview of the US National Climate Assessment: Major findings from the public health sector

To inform the country on the current state of knowledge about climate change, The National Climate Assessment (NCA) has integrated information from the scientific literature, a general solicitation for technical inputs from the American public, and a series of workshops conducted around the country. The health sector team for the NCA has drawn on these sources of information to assess current understanding of the public health implications of climate change, identify key health and population vulnerabilities and critical gaps in understanding, and describe current efforts to improve community and individual resilience to hazards posed by climate change. Unique themes to the health sector of the NCA include emphasis on vulnerable populations and equity issues as well as recognizing the potential for beneficial health impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. This presentation will summarize the approach taken by the health sector team of the NCA and describe preliminary findings and results.