Climate change and HHS: How to build back healthier
Published in The Hill | Op-ed by Howard Frumkin & Georges C. Benjamin | Apr 7, 2021
At first glance, climate change might not seem to be an HHS concern. After all, many climate action efforts lie in the bailiwick of the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, USDA and other federal agencies. But climate change is indisputably a health issue. A 2019 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council looked at just 10 climate-linked events in one year; they accounted for more than 900 deaths, 20,000 hospitalizations and 17,000 emergency department visits at a cost of over $10 billion.
As the Biden administration launches an all-hands-on-deck effort to tackle the climate crisis, HHS must play a major role in the response…
A broad coalition of health professionals and organizations
recently offered recommendations on how HHS can be the
catalyst for building back better and healthier.
View recommendations>