Climate change is a pressing public health crisis with profound consequences for well-being and livelihoods worldwide. Compared to the impacts on physical health, the implications for mental health remain less well understood, partially due to lack of conceptual clarity as well as the complex pathways that link climate change to mental health.
Mental health effects related to climate change can range from clinical mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorders and depression experienced in the aftermath of extreme events like floods, landslides and wildfires, to reduced well-being, which can manifest as eco-grief, eco-anxiety and similar responses. Climate change also exacerbates social determinants that are already causing an increasing mental health burden globally (such as social isolation). Some groups are disproportionately affected based on factors like gender, age, socioeconomic situation or pre-existing physical and mental health conditions. Mental health and psychosocial support interventions are manifold, for example, ranging from community strengthening and awareness building to clinical interventions, such as those deployed as part of emergency response and mental health services targeting vulnerable groups.
This Transatlantic dialogue on climate and health is the third in a series of dialogues organized jointly by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Pan American Health Organization. Specifically focusing on climate change and mental health, this session aims to:
- encourage the sharing of knowledge on the mental health burden caused by climate change and its pathways, while acknowledging common and region-specific challenges;
- facilitate an exchange of experiences on effective interventions encompassing various scopes, target groups and approaches; and
- stimulate further collaboration towards actionable policy recommendations and strategies.
This dialogue will provide input for the development of a summary for policy-makers on the approaches to and opportunities for tackling climate change-related mental health challenges for Member States on both sides of the Atlantic.
Languages:
English and Spanish