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While almost 80% of public health department leaders believe that climate change will impact the health of people in their jurisdictions over the next few decades, few have yet been able to make it a top priority, according to a new national survey co-sponsored by the Center for Climate Change Communication.
In order to better understand the current state of preparedness for health effects of climate change, Environmental Defense Fund collaborated with the National Association of City and County Health Officials and George Mason University to conduct a survey of a representative sample of local health departments from around the country.
Respondents to the survey generally recognized the reality of climate change impacts. Nearly 70% believed that their jurisdiction had already experienced climate
change in the past 20 years, and 78% believed that their jurisdiction will experience climate change in the next 20 years. Roughly 60% thought that one or more serious
public health problems will occur in their jurisdiction in the next two decades as a result of climate change, and slightly over half of the directors felt preventing or
preparing for climate change was an “important priority,” yet relatively few reported it as a top priority for their health department. Only 19% of respondents indicated
that climate change was among their department’s top 10 current priorities, and only 6% indicated climate change was one of their health department’s current top
five priorities.
