Climate and Health Co-Benefits

How can action on climate change also support healthier communities, ecosystems and a fairer future? LEAPH’s Climate and Health Co-Benefits branch explores these connections across water, land, health and climate in northern British Columbia and beyond. Co-benefits means looking for actions that achieve several benefits together, while paying attention to who benefits and how decisions are made (Parkes, 2020).

The branch brings together health authorities, universities and community partners to share knowledge, resources and tools, and identify opportunities to work together. It supports learning across sectors and generations, with an emphasis on Indigenous-led approaches and priorities. This includes connecting work in public health, environment and education to strengthen our collective capacity to respond to climate change.

The accompanying reflection on the Climate and Health Knowledge Exchange Gathering offers a glimpse of this work in practice: people coming together across cultures, disciplines and experiences to explore shared priorities and possibilities for action.

Reference: Parkes, M. W. (2020). Working together for WHOLE systems: Approaching well-being and health while oriented to living systems and equity. In Animals, Health, and Society (pp. 71–94). CRC Press.

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