Waterloo joins White House climate change commitment

Friday, December 4, 2015

WATERLOO, Ont. (Friday, December 4, 2015) —The School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo is one of 48 new institutions committing to train students to address the health impacts of climate change, the White House announced today at the World Climate Summit in Paris.

The Health Educators Climate Commitment, created by the Obama Administration in April 2015, aims to prepare the next generation of health professionals with the education and training to address the health impacts of climate change and develop a global network of climate change and health experts.

The School of Public Health and Health Systems joins 117 other public health, medical, and nursing schools from 14 countries in the initiative.

“Globally, health professionals are recognizing the growing impact that the changing climate is having on people’s health, from extreme heat and life-threatening storms, to the length of allergy seasons and the intensity of smog episodes, to the availability of safe water and food, to the distribution and abundance of pathogens and their vectors,” the White House said in the announcement.

To help partnering institutions bring the pledge to action, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health will create a Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education. The forum will allow schools around the world share best scientific and educational practices, develop core sets of knowledge for graduates; and foster global academic partnerships to support training of health professionals, especially in less developed countries.

Other institutions to sign the commitment today include Dartmouth College, the University of British Columbia and Brown University.