Mission & Goals

The mission of the Columbia Climate and Health Program (CCHP) is to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary, translational scholarship on the human health dimensions of climate change, with the goal of advancing society’s capacity to understand, anticipate, and prevent adverse health consequences.

One of society’s greatest challenges in coming decades will be to enhance population health in the face of emerging risks related to climate change. Overcoming this challenge will require new science to identify impacts, mechanisms, and policy levers, and a new workforce of well-trained professionals who can translate that science into action.

The three overarching goals of the program are to:

Catalyze cross-disciplinary, cutting edge science to address basic questions about how climate change affects health;
Train a new generation of professionals in the public health dimensions of climate change vulnerabilities, impacts, and adaptation strategies.
Partner with governments, NGOs, and clinicians to ensure that the knowledge we generate informs strategies for reducing harm to vulnerable populations.