This year, for the first time, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) will feature a Health Day to draw attention to the impact of climate change on health—a watershed moment in the history of climate action. Harvard Chan C-CHANGE has been raising awareness about how climate changes health for over 25 years, highlighting how climate solutions can provide for a healthier and more just world today and a livable future for our children.
Our Climate MD team will join faculty, researchers, and students from Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to bring their expertise to COP28 in the service of driving health-focused climate policies around the world.
COP28 Harvard Health Cohort
Dr. Gaurab Basu is a practicing Primary Care Physician and the Director of Education and Policy at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE. His work focuses on the intersection of climate change, health equity, medical education, advocacy, and public policy. He is available to speak on health equity, bringing climate and health conversations to the bedside, and integrating climate change into medical education curricula. Basu will be in Dubai from December 2-8.
Caleb Dresser is a practicing emergency physician and Director of Healthcare Solutions at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE. He will focus on the health impacts of climate change, both through reductions in fossil fuel use and adaptation strategies. He is available to share his experience working with Harvard and AmeriCares to develop and test patient-centered climate change adaptation solutions for frontline clinics. Dresser will be in Dubai from December 2-8.
Francesca Dominici is Professor of Biostatistics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative. She is the principal investigator of a consortium of faculty and students working at the intersection of data science, climate and health. Dominici will attend events on climate and health, mitigation and adaptation, and technology, seeking to learn about the most pressing questions in climate and health, make connections with non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Dominici will be in Dubai December 1-7.
Catharina Giudice is a practicing emergency physician and a Climate and Human Health Fellow at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE. Dr. Giudice’s work explores how climate events affect delivery of healthcare and how to enhance preparedness and resilience. She is available to speak on integrating climate change into medical education curricula and mitigating the health impacts of climate change on communities that are disproportionately affected. Giudice will be in Dubai from Dec 1-9.
Annikki Herranen-Tabibi is a Burke Climate and Health Fellow in Global Health and Social Medicine. Her scholarly work defines a space for research and collaborative action at the intersections of global health with medical and environmental humanities and social sciences. Across these arenas, her work is grounded in questions of care—interpersonal, intergenerational, and ecological. Herranen-Tabibi will be in Dubai from Nov 30 – Dec 6.
Demetrice “Dee” Jordan is an instructor in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the spatial-ecological determinants of disease risk for vector-borne parasitic diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases of sub-Saharan Africa and the tropics. She also examines issues related to health equity, health disparities, social and environmental justice. Jordan will be in Dubai from Dec 8 – 12.
Madeleine Kline is a second-year PhD student in the Population Health Sciences program in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School, and a fourth-year student in the MD-PhD program. She is interested in genomic epidemiology and the impact of climate change on infectious diseases. Klein will be in Dubai Dec 6 – 12.
Victor Lopez-Carmen is a Dakota and Yaqui student at Harvard Medical School. Over the past decade, he has advocated for Indigenous youth health and climate action across the UN system as the former Co-Chair of the UN Global Indigenous Youth Caucus, and a current member of the UNFCCC Indigenous Peoples Caucus. His writing and commentary have been featured across major media networks like ABC News, the UN News Centre, and the BBC, and in 2022 he became the first documented Native American to make the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Healthcare category. Currently he is a climate justice and health Contributor at Forbes Magazine.
Mary B. Rice is Associate Professor of Medicine and a pulmonary and critical care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston where she leads the Institute for Lung Health and studies the respiratory health effects of air pollution and climate change among children and adults. She will deliver a talk entitled “Confronting Climate Change in Patient Care” at a pre-COP28 event at the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute. Rice will be in Dubai November 29-December 3.
Hugh Shirley is a student at Harvard Medical School whose research interests center around the impacts of climate change on healthcare around the world.
Elizabeth Willetts is the Planetary Health Policy Director at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is leading two Blue Zone side events to target one of the biggest barriers to implementation of climate action—policy coordination across ministries and sectors. The panels, Linking Agendas of the UNFCCC and the World Health Assembly, will focus on regional coordination (December 6) and global coordination (December 12). Willetts will be in Dubai from December 1-8.
Tess Wiskel is a practicing emergency physician and a Climate and Human Health Fellow at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE. Her research focuses on the health impacts of climate change, centering on extreme weather events in at-risk patient populations. She is available to speak on the long term effects of climate-related disasters, including migration. Wiskel will be in Dubai from December 2 – 6.
Where to find us
November 27 & 28
- All Day. Climate Action and Health Conference. Mary Rice will attend this event hosted by the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute.
December 1
- 1:30 pm. When Climate is a Health Story. Hosted by the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, a collaborator with Harvard Chan’s FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, this session will highlight how climate journalism can elevate the health story at the heart of the climate crisis. WHO Health Pavilion or watch the livestream.
December 3
- 9:00 am – 10:30 am. A Climate-Smarter Health System. Caleb Dresser will join a panel hosted by the Philippines Department of Health, and will share insights from the Harvard Chan C-CHANGE Building Patient-Centered Climate Resilient Clinics project.
- 11:30 am – 12:30 pm. How an All-in Climate Strategy Can Improve Health and Socio-economic Benefits. Gaurab Basu will join a panel hosted by America Is All In and the Center for Global Sustainability. Former White House Climate Advisor and Harvard Chan C-CHANGE Advisory Board Member Gina McCarthy will provide opening remarks. America Is All In Action Center, Blue Zone. Watch the livestream.
- 1:30 pm – 2:20 pm. Digital Health Solutions for Climate Change Resilience: Adapting and Mitigating the Impact. Victor Lopez-Carmen will present at this event hosted by Monash University, University of Washington, Harvard, and Nepal Health Research Council. Monash University Pavilion, Blue Zone.
- All day. COP28 Health Day. Gaurab Basu, Francesca Dominici, Caleb Dresser, Annikki Herranen-Tabibi, Mary Rice, Liz Willetts, and Tess Wiskel will be in attendance.
December 5
- 9:50 am – 10:20 am. Interdisciplinary Approaches for Transforming Climate & Health Education. Gaurab Basu will present during this session hosted by the Global Consortium For Climate and Health Equity at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. E&C Pavilion in the Blue Zone.
- 1:15 pm – 1:45 pm. Communicating Climate Change and Health Through Video Media. Gaurab Basu and Caleb Dresser will screen videos and media clips to explore the messaging and utility of video in communicating about climate change and health. E&C Pavilion in the Blue Zone.
- 1:50 pm – 2:10 pm. Indigenous Youth Perspectives on Climate Health. Victor Lopez-Carmen will present during this event hosted by the Climate Health Foundation. E&C Pavilion.
- 2:40 pm. Beyond Numbers: Unveiling the Cultural Impacts of Climate Change on Health. Harvard Chan C-CHANGE Climate and Health Fellows Catharina Giudice, Tess Wiskell, and (remotely) Latoya Storr will share reflections on how climate change has impacted the health of their communities in Canada, the Caribbean, and Brazil. E&C Pavilion in the Blue Zone.
- 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm. Accelerating a just transition for healthy people and a healthy planet. Victor Lopez Carmen will present during this event hosted by Global Climate and Health Alliance, Health Care Without Harm, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University College London, World Federation of Public Health Associations. Side event room 4.
- Time TBD. Advancing Publication on Science-Diplomacy. Working lunch for the Harvard Climate and Health Cohort.
Dec 6
- 3:00 – 4:30 pm. Linking Agendas on Climate Change and Health Across the UNFCCC and World Health Assembly in the Americas. Liz Willetts will moderate and the Harvard Cohort will be in attendance. Guatemala Pavilion, Blue Zone. Learn more
- 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm. Reducing Global Methane Emissions: Imperatives, Opportunities, and Challenges The Harvard Initiative on Reducing Global Methane Emissions is hosting this official side event in the Blue Zone.
- 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm. Climate & Health Networking Reception. Caleb Dresser will introduce this Climate and Health Foundation dinner. Gaurab Basu, Catharina Giudice, Madeline Klein, Mary Rice, Hugh Shirley, Liz Willetts, and Tess Wiskel will also attend. Atlantis, The Palms, outside the Blue Zone.
December 7
- 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm. Climate and Sustainability Networking The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University will host a networking event for climate leaders, practitioners, and stakeholders to discuss opportunities and challenges. Gaurab Basu, Caleb Dresser, and Catharina Giudice will attend. Taj, Business Bay, Dubai.
December 12
- 9:30 am – 10:45 am. Linking Agendas on Climate Change and Health Across the UNFCCC and World Health Assembly in the Americas. Organized by Liz Willetts, Madeleine Kline and Hugh Shirley will moderate this panel hosted by Harvard Chan School. Victor Lopez-Carmen will be a panelist. WHO Pavillion, Blue Zone. For a recording, click here, click on December 12, then click on the title of the session. Learn more
Climate-Smarter Healthcare
Watch the recording of “A Climate-Smarter Health System” with Dr. Caleb Dresser, our Director of Healthcare Solutions, organized by the Department of Health Philippines in collaboration with WHO, Harvard Chan CCHANGE, Health Care Without Harm, St. Luke’s Planetary Health Program, and Health Systems Global.
Three Doctors Walked Into A COP...
Doctors Gaurab Basu, our Director of Education and Policy; Mary B. Rice, Associate Professor of Medicine; and Caleb Dresser, our Director of Healthcare Solutions meet outside COP28 for a quick photoshoot.
TFW John Kerry cites your research
Harvard Chan’s Francesca Dominici was moved to her feet when John Kerry cited her research to call for an end of coal at COP28. Relive the moment and check out the study.
Climate and Health Fellows
Doctors Caleb Dresser, Catharina Giudice, Tess Wiskel, and Kimberly Humphrey representing our Climate and Human Health Fellowship at COP28.
Linking Agendas on Climate & Health
Cohort delegates Victor Lopez-Carmen, Hugh Shirley, and Maddy Kline join fellow panelists in a session organized by Elizabeth Willetts.
Climate & Health Conversations
Marco Vinicio Ochoa, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Guatemala and Liz Willetts, Harvard Health Cohort.
