Abstract
This chapter focuses on the consequences to human health from climate change. We argue that the prospects for global human health are more ominous than most informed activists for global health realise. Unsurprisingly, risks to human health increase with the severity of climate change. After reviewing the history of the concerns about climate change and health, the chapter reviews some of the “primary” (heatwaves and other extreme weather events), “secondary” (kidney disease) and “tertiary” (large-scale violence) health risks. The mental health effects of some of these issues, which can arise in association with any of these categories, are also discussed. We also mention some possible effects, specific to children. Healthcare’s own considerable carbon footprint and resource consumption are described, with suggestions for improvement. While the focus of the chapter is mostly global, we briefly mention air pollution from coal-fired electricity generation in Australia, where a comparatively high proportion of electricity is generated by this method.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Many scientists now call this dangerous era the Anthropocene (see Chap. 2).
- 2.
In the thermo-dynamic sense.
- 3.
Until 2014, coal-fired power stations in NSW were only permitted to emit up to 175 mg/m3 of SO2.
- 4.
“At the worst, global ecosystems will be unable to adapt to a rapidly changing climate, world food production will collapse, and coastal areas will be inundated by rapidly rising sea levels. Such end-of-the-world sketches are familiar, usually in relation to AIDS or nuclear war, but there is an inevitability about global warming, which stems not from human behaviour or human error but from the radiative properties of atmospheric releases and the fundamental laws of physical science” (Anonymous 1989).
- 5.
A term coined by McMichael who is widely recognised as securing the place of health in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 1996 onwards.
- 6.
Especially in Nicaragua and El Salvador, where the rate has been found to be over 20 times that of climatically comparable, geographically proximal countries such as Costa Rica and Cuba (Ordunez et al. 2014).
- 7.
Even under conservative, low-carbon emission scenarios, and where the Antarctic ice sheets remain stable this century, 150 to 250 million people (90% confidence interval) currently occupy global land below projected high tide lines for 2100. Under high emissions, the upper bound of this confidence interval increases to 630 million, in calculations that do not factor either population growth or coastal in-migration (Kulp and Strauss 2019).
- 8.
In 1970, cyclone Bhola, a category 4 storm, killed at least 300,000 Bangladeshis and led to civil war (Hossain 2018). Adaptation to storms in coastal Bangladesh has been a spectacular success, in relative terms. Nonetheless, ongoing sea level rise, with other factors, threatens this.
- 9.
For example, in warmer temperatures, the life cycle of some pathogens accelerates, potentially meaning a more intense epidemic in the same location, due to one or more additional cycles of transmission.
- 10.
In this context the term “vector” generally refers to insects such as mosquitoes and ticks.
- 11.
Climate change is neither necessary nor sufficient for such tertiary effects to arise, but can increase the likelihood.
- 12.
By the German Advisory Council on Global Change, in 2007.
- 13.
As well as the Syrian war, the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, was partly fuelled by climatic change (UNEP 2007).
- 14.
Recently retired director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
- 15.
The worst-case scenario for reusable equipment is to sterilise it using brown coal fired-electricity, such as is still generally the case in the Australian state of Victoria. In the adjacent state of Tasmania (where electricity is now over 100% renewable, with the surplus exported) there is no environmental case for using disposable equipment. The problem with the manufacture of equipment designed for single use is the feedstock. For example, all plastics are based on polymerising ethane or propane, which require (with present technology) fossil fuels (oil or gas). However, this feedstock could also be sourced from renewable sources (e.g. algae), powered by renewables.
References
Abel GJ, Brottrager M, Crespo Cuaresma J et al (2019) Climate, conflict and forced migration. Glob Environ Chang 54:239–249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.12.003
Afelt A, Frutos R, Devaux C (2018) Bats, coronaviruses, and deforestation: toward the emergence of novel infectious diseases? Front Microbiol 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00702
Ahmadalipour A, Moradkhani H (2018) Escalating heat-stress mortality risk due to global warming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Environ Int 117:215–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.05.014
Akpan GE, Adepoju KA, Oladosu OR (2019) Potential distribution of dominant malaria vector species in tropical region under climate change scenarios. PLoS One 14:e0218523. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218523
Albrecht G, Sartore G-M, Connor L et al (2007) Solastalgia: the distress caused by environmental change. Australas Psychiatry 15:S95–S98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10398560701701288
Alisic E, Zalta AK, van Wesel F et al (2014) Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed children and adolescents: meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry 204:335–340. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.113.131227
Alonso P, Noor AM (2017) The global fight against malaria is at crossroads. Lancet 390:10112. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)33080-5
American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2017) Mental health and our changing climate: impacts, implications, and guidance. Washington, DC. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf. Accessed 25 Dec 2020
Anonymous (1989) Health in the greenhouse. Lancet 333:819–820. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(89)92275-7
Bales K (1999) Disposable people: new slavery in the global economy. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London
Banerjee A, Baker ML, Kulcsar K et al (2020) Novel insights into immune systems of bats. Front Immunol 11:26. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00026
Barraclough KA, Blashki GA, Holt SG et al (2017) Climate change and kidney disease—threats and opportunities. Kidney Int 92:526–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2017.03.047
Berchin II, Valduga IB, Garcia J et al (2017) Climate change and forced migrations: an effort towards recognizing climate refugees. Geoforum 84:147–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.06.022
Berry HL, Bowen K, Kjellstrom T (2010) Climate change and mental health: a causal pathways framework. Int J Public Health 55:123–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-009-0112-0
Bowles DC (2015) Climate change and health adaptation: consequences for indigenous physical and mental health. Ann Glob Health 81:427–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aogh.2015.06.004
Bowles DC, Butler CD, Morisetti N (2015) Climate change, conflict, and health. J Roy Soc Med 108:390–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076815603234
Brijnath B, McMichael AJ, Butler CD (2012) Rio+20: don’t forget health in sustainability talks. Nature 486:191. https://doi.org/10.1038/486191a
Brimblecombe P (2012 (1987)) The big smoke. A history of air pollution in London since medieval times. Routledge, London
Burke S, Sanson A, Van Hoorn J (2018) The psychological effects of climate change on children. Curr Psychiatry Rep 20:35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0896-9
Butler CD (2004) Human carrying capacity and human health. PLoS Med 1:192–194. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0010055
Butler CD (2017) Limits to growth, planetary boundaries, and planetary health. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 25:59–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.08.002
Butler CD (2018) Climate change, health and existential risks to civilization: a comprehensive review (1989–2013). Int J Environ Res Public Health 15:2266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102266
Butler CD (2020) Plagues, pandemics, health security, and the war on nature. J Hum Sec 16:53–57. https://doi.org/10.12924/johs2020.16010053
Butler CD, Bowles DC, McIver L et al (2014) Mental health, cognition and the challenge of climate change. In: Butler CD (ed) Climate change and global health. CABI, Wallingford
Butler CD, Kefford BJ (2018) Climate and conflict: magnifying risks. Nature 555:587. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-03795-0
Caminade C, McIntyre KM, Jones AE (2019) Impact of recent and future climate change on vector-borne diseases. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1476:157–173. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13950
Chaudry A, Wimer C (2016) Poverty is not just an indicator: the relationship between income, poverty, and child well-being. Acad Pediatr 16:S23–S29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.12.010
Chiw A, Ling HS (2019) Young people of Australia and climate change: perceptions and concerns. A report for Millennium Kids. https://www.millenniumkids.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Young-People-and-Climate-Change.pdf. Accessed 25 Dec 2020
Cianconi P, Betro S, Janiri L (2020) The impact of climate change on mental health: a systematic descriptive review. Fr Psychiatr 11 article number 74. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00074
Clark WC, Crutzen PJ, Schellnhuber HJ (2005) Science for global sustainability. Toward a new paradigm. KSG working paper no. RWP05-032. https://ssrn.com/abstract=702501 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.702501. Accessed 30 June 2020
Clayton S, Manning C, Krygsman K et al (2017) Mental health and our changing climate: impacts, implications, and guidance. American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica, Washington, DC. http://ecoamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ea-apa-psych-report-web.pdf. Accessed 26 Dec 2020
Cochat Costa Rodrigues MC, Moreira I, Peixoto MJ et al (2017) The new great imitator – neuropsychiatric symptoms of Lyme disease. Eur Psychiatry 41:S232–S232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.2242
Cohen D, Crawford J, Stelcer E et al (2012) Application of positive matrix factorisation, multilinear engine and back trajectory techniques to the quantification of coal-fired power station pollution in Sydney. Atmos Environ 61:204–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.07.037
Costello A, Abbas M, Allen A et al (2009) Managing the health effects of climate change. Lancet 373:1693–1733. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60935-1
Crawford J, Cohen D, Atanacio A (2018) The impact of closure of coal-fired power stations on aerosol concentrations in the Sydney Basin. Atmos Pollut Res 9:1167–1176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2018.05.002
Cunsolo A, Ellis N (2018) Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss. Nature Clim Change 8:275–281. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0092
Di Q, Dai L, Wang Y (2017) Association of short-term exposure to air pollution with mortality in older adults. JAMA 318:2446–2456. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.17923
Eckelman MJ, Sherman J (2016) Environmental impacts of the U.S. health care system and effects on public health. PLoS One 11:e0157014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157014
Ewald B (2018) The health burden of fine particle air pollution from electricity generation in NSW. Environment Justice Australia, Melbourne. https://www.envirojustice.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ewald_B_2018_The_health_burden_of_fine_particle_pollution_from_electricity_generation_in_NSW.pdf. Accessed 26 Dec 2020
Fagan M, Huang C (2019) A look at how people around the world view climate change. FactTank, Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/18/a-look-at-how-people-around-the-world-view-climate-change/. Accessed 12 Dec 2020
Fernandez A, Black J, Jones M et al (2015) Flooding and mental health: a systematic mapping review. PLoS One 10:1–20. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0119929
Fritze JG, Blashki GA, Burke S et al (2008) Hope, despair and transformation: climate change and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing. Int J Mental Health Systems 2:13. https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-4458-2-13
Frumkin H (2020) Sustaining life: human health-planetary health linkages. In: Al-Delaimy WK, Ramanathan V, Sorondo MS (eds) Health of people, health of planet and our responsibility. Springer Open, New York
Galea S, Brewin CR, Gruber M et al (2007) Exposure to hurricane-related stressors and mental illness after Hurricane Katrina. Arch Gen Psychiatry 64:1427–1434. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.64.12.1427
Ganopolski A, Winkelmann R, Schellnhuber HJ (2016) Critical insolation–CO2 relation for diagnosing past and future glacial inception. Nature 529:200–203. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16494
Garcia DM, Sheehan MC (2016) Extreme weather-driven disasters and children’s health. Int J Health Services 46:79–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731415625254
Giang A, Stokes LC, Streets DG et al (2015) Impacts of the Minamata Convention on mercury emissions and global deposition from coal-fired power generation in Asia. Environ Sci Technol 49:5326–5335. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00074
Gifford E, Gifford R (2016) The largely unacknowledged impact of climate change on mental health. Bull At Sci 72:292–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2016.1216505
Haines A, Parry ML (1993) Climate change and human health. J R Soc Med 86:707–711
Hanigan IC, Butler CD, Kokic PN et al (2012) Suicide and drought in New South Wales, Australia, 1970–2007. PNAS 109:13950–13955. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1112965109
Hart R, Fisher S, Kimiagar B (2014) Beyond projects: involving children in community governance as a fundamental strategy for facing climate change. In: UNICEF Office of Research (ed) The challenges of climate change: children on the frontline. UNICEF Office of Research, Florence, pp 92–97
Herman J (1992) Trauma and recovery: the aftermath of violence—from domestic abuse to political terror. Basic Books, New York
Higginbotham N, Connor L, Albrecht G et al (2007) Validation of the environmental distress scale. EcoHealth 3:245–254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-006-0069-x
Hoppen TH, Morina N (2019) The prevalence of PTSD and major depression in the global population of adult war survivors: a meta-analytically informed estimate in absolute numbers. Eur J Psychotraumatol 10:1578637. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019.1578637
Hossain N (2018) The 1970 Bhola cyclone, nationalist politics, and the subsistence crisis contract in Bangladesh. Disasters 42:187–203. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12235
Johnson RJ, Wesseling C, Newman LS (2019) Chronic kidney disease of unknown cause in agricultural communities. New Engl J Med 380:1843–1852. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc1907676
Johnston FH, Melody S, Bowman DMJS (2016) The pyrohealth transition: how combustion emissions have shaped health through human history. Phil Trans R Soc B 371:20150173. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0173
Kulp SA, Strauss BH (2019) New elevation data triple estimates of global vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. Nature Commun, 10, Article number: 4844. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12808-z
Malik A, Lenzen M, McAlister S et al (2018) The carbon footprint of Australian health care. Lancet Planet Health 2:e27–e35. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(17)30180-8
McGain F, Muret J, Lawson C et al (2020) Environmental sustainability within anaesthesia and critical care. Br J Anaesth 125:680–692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2020.06.055
McGain F, Naylor C (2014) Environmental sustainability in hospitals – a systematic review and research agenda. J Health Serv Res Policy 19:245–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/1355819614534836
McMichael AJ (1993) Planetary overload. Global environmental change and the health of the human species. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK
Mecklin J (2019) Former Defense Secretary William Perry: why we must describe doomsday to keep it from happening. Bull At Sci 75:265–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2019.1680046
Murdock CC, Sternberg ED, Thomas MB (2016) Malaria transmission potential could be reduced with current and future climate change. Sci Rep, 6, Article number: 27771. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep27771
Murray KO, Resnick M, Miller V (2007) Depression after infection with West Nile virus. Emerg Inf Dis 13:479–481. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1303.060602
Neria Y, Nandi A, Galea S (2008) Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: a systematic review. Psychol Med 38:467–480. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291707001353
Newnham EA, Titov N, McEvoy P (2020) Preparing mental health systems for climate crisis. Lancet Plan Health 4:E89–E90. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30036-X
Norris FH, Friedman MJ, Watson PJ et al (2002) 60,000 disaster victims speak: part I. An empirical review of the empirical literature, 1981–2001. Psychiatr Interpers Bio Proces 65:207–223. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.65.3.207.20173
OECD (2020) Monthly OECD electricity statistics
Ordunez P, Martinez R, Reveiz L et al (2014) Chronic kidney disease epidemic in Central America: urgent public health action is needed amid causal uncertainty. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8:e3019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003019
Peng M, Liu A, Zhou J et al (2011) Association between posttraumatic stress disorder and preflood behavioral characteristics among children aged 7–15 years in Hunan, China. Med Princ Pract 20:336–340. https://doi.org/10.1159/000323757
Pfefferbaum B, Jacobs AK, Van Horn RL et al (2016) Effects of displacement in children exposed to disasters. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18:71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0714-1
Pichler P-P, Jaccard IS, Weisz U et al (2019) International comparison of health care carbon footprints. Environ Res Lett 14:064004. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab19e1
Pope C, Burnett R, Thun M (2002) Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution. JAMA 287:1132–1141. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.287.9.1132
Raymond C, Matthews T, Horton RM (2020) The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance. Sci Adv 6:eaaw1838. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw1838
Ripple WJ, Wolf C, Newsome TM et al (2020) World scientists’ warning of a climate emergency. BioSci 70:8–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz088
Robock A, Toon OB, Bardeen CG et al (2019) How an India-Pakistan nuclear war could start—and have global consequences. Bull At Sci 75:273–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2019.1680049
Rosling H, Rosling O, Rönnlund AR (2018) Ten reasons we’re wrong about the world – and why things are better than you think. Flatiron Books, New York
Sanson AV, Burke SEL (2019) Climate change and children: an issue of intergenerational justice. In: Balvin N, Christie D (eds) Children and peace: from research to action. Springer Open Peace Psychology Book Series, New York, pp 342–363
Sanson AV, Van Hoorn J, Burke SEL (2019) Responding to the impacts of the climate crisis on children and youth. Child Dev Perspect 13:201–207. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12342
Sanson AV, Wachs TD, Koller SH et al (2018) Young people and climate change: the role of developmental science. In: Verma S, Petersen A (eds) Developmental science and sustainable development goals for children and youth. Springer, New York, pp 115–138
Sherman JD, Lagasse R (2018) How healthy is health care? JAMA Netw Open 1:e181000-e. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.1000
Spratt D (2019) Revisiting the climate collapse: the view from Nuuk in the year 2070. Bull At Sci 75:280–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2019.1680050
Stanke C, Murray V, Amlôt R et al (2012) The effects of flooding on mental health: outcomes and recommendations from a review of the literature. PLoS Currents 4:1–25. https://doi.org/10.1371/4f9f1fa9c3cae
Strife SJ (2012) Children’s environmental concerns: expressing ecophobia. J Environ Educ 43:37–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2011.602131
Sustainable Development Unit (2018) Reducing the use of natural resources in health and social care, 2018 report. Available from https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/documents/Policy. Accessed 11 Dec 2020
Thurston G (2017) Written report of George D. Thurston regarding the public health benefits of EPA’s proposed rulemaking regarding best available retrofit technology for Texas sources under the regional haze rule. Environmental Protection Agency. Available via https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/blog/%20Texas%20Regional%20Haze%20Pollution%20Health%20Impacts.pdf. Accessed 11 Dec 2020
Torres JM, Casey JA (2017) The centrality of social ties to climate migration and mental health. BMC Public Health 17:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4508-
Tucci J, Mitchell J, Goddard C (2007) Children’s fears, hopes and heroes. Australian Childhood Foundation and the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, Melbourne
Turchin A, Denkenberger D (2018) Classification of global catastrophic risks connected with artificial intelligence. AI Soc 35:147–163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-018-0845-
UNEP (2007) Post-conflict environmental assessment. UNEP, Nairobi
Waters CN, Zalasiewicz J, Summerhayes C et al (2016) The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science 351:aad2622. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad2622
WHO (2014) Gender, climate change and health. WHO, Geneva
Woodbury Z (2019) Climate trauma: toward a new taxonomy of trauma. Ecopsychology 11:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2018.0021
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Drs Katherine Barraclough, George Crisp and Kingsley Faulkner.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Butler, C.D., Ewald, B., McGain, F., Kiang, K., Sanson, A. (2022). Climate Change and Human Health. In: Williams, S.J., Taylor, R. (eds) Sustainability and the New Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78795-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78795-0_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-78794-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78795-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)