ABOUT THE BRIEF

The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change is an international research collaboration that monitors and reports annually on the relationship between health and climate, and its implications for national governments. It was launched following the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, which concluded that unmitigated climate change would undermine 50 years of public health gains, but that responding to climate change could represent “the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century.”

Each year, a special companion U.S. brief is released alongside the global report that aims to draw out the most nationally relevant findings to highlight the key threats and opportunities climate change poses for health in the United States. One intended audience for the brief is U.S. policymakers, so it includes a list of policy recommendations that aim to protect human health from the climate crisis. The brief is developed in partnership with the American Public Health Association and a working group of experts in the climate and health field.