May 5, 2022 – Parents who take action to fight climate change can help improve the lives of their children both now and in the future, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Aaron Bernstein.
In an April 19, 2002 opinion piece in Coverage, Bernstein, interim director of Harvard Chan School’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE), outlined the findings of the most recent report on the climate crisis from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report indicated that climate change—driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels—will lead to more natural disasters, more wars resulting from resource scarcity, higher food prices, and worse mental health among children and adolescents.
“The report shows us what we stand to gain when we act on climate for the health of our children and for their future,” Bernstein wrote. “Actions that get us off fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions—like electrifying our homes, buses, and cars, greening our neighborhoods, and eating plant-based diets—aren’t just about creating a better future for our children. They matter—and profoundly so—to every child’s health today.”
Read the Coverage article: Caring for our planet and our children
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