There is no health without a healthy planet
Learn more about how climate change affects our health and what we as a company are doing to help tackle it.
Floods, forest fires, and earthquakes – natural disasters caused by human-made climate change. Forest burning, crops drying up, and huge swaths of land being flooded. Media coverage of such events is steadily increasing; but the fact that climate change not only affects our environment but can also have a direct impact on human health is underrepresented in the media and public debate.[1,2] And even in the scientific community, only about four percent of publications in 2017 addressed the relationship between climate change and human health.[3]
The impact of climate change on health
Vulnerable people suffer particularly from the consequences of climate change. Extreme heat, for example, makes sick people even sicker. Heat protection plans must be developed and implemented.
Professor Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, MD, Director of the Outpatient Clinic for Environmental Medicine and TUM Environmental Medicine at Augsburg University Hospital. She is board certified in dermatology, venereology, and allergology.
Exhaust fumes directly favor certain disease patterns
Increased UV radiation and heat are critical factors
Increased ambient temperature changes flora and fauna
The consequences of extreme weather
New challenges for the healthcare sector
Our contribution to help tackle climate change
[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Climate Effects on Health” (2021). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/default.htm. [Accessed on March 28, 2022].
[2] Wille, J. Gesundheitsbranche für mehr CO2-Emissionen verantwortlich als Flugverkehr. Frankfurter Rundschau, 26.09.2019. Available from: https://www.fr.de/wissen/gesundheitsbranche-mehr-co2-emissionen-verantwortlich-flugverkehr-13000318.html. [Accessed on March 28, 2022].
[3] Jaccard, R. Klimawandel als Herausforderung für Medizin und Gesundheitswesen. Bulletin des médecins suisses, 25.09.2019. Available from: https://bullmed.ch/article/doi/bms.2019.18090 [Accessed on September 20, 2021].
[4] Traidl-Hoffmann C., Trippel, K.: Überhitzt: Die Folgen des Klimawandels für unsere Gesundheit. Was wir tun können. Dudenverlag; 2021.
[5] Stichting Deltawerken Online (2004): Wasserverschmutzung, Deltawerken online Available from: http://www.deltawerken.com/Wasserverschmutzung/704.html [Accessed on 20.09.2021] [6] Wolf, Mareike; Ölmez, Can; Schönthaler, Konstanze; Bosch& Partner München (2021): Klimawirkungs- und Risikoanalyse 2021 für Deutschland, Umwelt Bundesamt, Available from: https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/luft/fachinformationen/auswirkungen-der-luftverschmutzung.html [Accessed on 20.09.2021]
[7] Swisstph.ch (o.D.): LUDOK, Swiss TPH, Available from: https://www.swisstph.ch/de/projects/ludok/healtheffects/ [Accessed on 20.09.2021]
[8] Umwelt Bundesamt: Wie funktioniert der Treibhauseffekt? (2021). Available from: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/service/uba-fragen/wie-funktioniert-der-treibhauseffekt. [Accessed on 27.03.2022]
[9] Umwelt Bundesamt (2021). Klimawirkungs- und Risikoanalyse 2021 für Deutschland. (online). https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/5750/publikationen/2021-06-10_cc_24-2021_kwra2021_wirtschaft_gesundheit.pdf [Accessed on 25.03.2022]
[10] International Agency for Research on Cancer (2022). Cancers Attributable to uv radiation, Available from: https://gco.iarc.fr/causes/uv/home [Accessed on 20.09.2021]
[11] Ludwig, A.; Bayr, D.; Pawlitzki, M.; Traidl-Hoffmann, C (2021). Der Einfluss des Klimawandels auf die Allergenexplosion: Herausforderungen für die Versorgung von allergischen Erkrankungen, Available from: . https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e0ac/30bca7349b0595141b9325e62e47326366f7.pdf [Accessed on 30.03.2022]
[12] Wolf, Mareike; Ölmez, Can; Schönthaler, Konstanze; Bosch& Partner München (2021): Klimawirkungs- und Risikoanalyse 2021 für Deutschland, Umwelt Bundesamt, Available from: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/5750/publikationen/2021-06-10_cc_21-2021_kwra2021_land_1.pdf [Accessed on 20.09.2021]
[13] Lambernd, S.; NDR.de: Klimawandel: Mücken und Zecken breiten sich aus“ (2019). Available from: https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/klimawandel/Klimawandel-Beste-Bedingungen-fuer-Muecken-und-Zecken,invasivearten100.html#:~:text=Die%20Asiatische%20Tigerm%C3%BCcke%20stammt%20aus,die%20gef%C3%A4hrliche%20Erreger%20%C3%BCbertragen%20k%C3%B6nnen. [Accessed on 27.03.2022]
[14] Wolf, Mareike; Ölmez, Can; Schönthaler, Konstanze; Bosch& Partner München (2021): Klimawirkungs- und Risikoanalyse 2021 für Deutschland, Umwelt Bundesamt, Available from: https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/luft/fachinformationen/auswirkungen-der-luftverschmutzung.html [Accessed on 20.09.2021]
[15] Health Care Without Harm Report https://noharm-global.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/5961/HealthCaresClimateFootprint_092319.pdf [Accessed on 20.09.2021]
[16] United Nations (n.d.) The Paris Agreement, Available from: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement [Accessed: 30.03.2022]