Confronting Climate Change

The future of humanity is sustainable

It’s the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat. It’s also the rising risk of epidemics and natural disasters that devastate communities and trigger social upheaval. Climate change harms us all, but we can turn the tide.

We are working to protect communities around the corner and around the globe—uncovering the human consequences of pollution policies, the nuances of our changing environment, and the solutions that are possible when we work together. We’re revealing new insights and making new connections. And we’re helping people survive and thrive in a changing world.

We’re on the front lines of the fight to sustain humankind.

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Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE)
C-CHANGE produces science for a healthy, just, and sustainable world. Researchers at the Center will harness the best available science and support innovative research to develop strategies that benefit public health today while providing opportunities to stabilize our climate.
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Recent Stories

The dangers of heat during pregnancy

Stefania Papatheodorou, lecturer in epidemiology, discusses the implications of a new study that linked higher temperatures with impaired fetal growth, and how pregnant people can protect themselves during days of extreme heat.

Buildings can be both well-ventilated and energy efficient, says expert

It’s possible to design buildings that have better ventilation and that also use less energy, according to Harvard Chan School’s Joseph Allen.

Extreme temperatures linked with heart disease deaths

Days that are very hot or very cold increased the risk of death among people with cardiovascular diseases, according to large long-term international study co-authored by experts from Harvard Chan School.

New toolkit to help clinics care for patients during climate shocks

A toolkit developed by the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard Chan School (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE) and Americares aims to protect people on the front lines of climate change.

Emergency docs discuss takeaways from climate summit

Three emergency room physicians spoke about progress made in addressing the climate crisis at the recent UN climate summit in Egypt (COP27)—as well as the significant challenges that remain—at a November 22 panel discussion.

Drew Michanowicz
Research Fellow in the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment

"Climate change should be public health enemy number one. The irony is, if we don’t slow the rate of climate change, we may no longer get the luxury of imagining future public health achievements."
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Ramon Sanchez
Research Associate in the Department of Environmental Health

"My particular interest is using microorganisms to transform wastewater into fuel. Imagine that every city will be its own refinery, because it will transform the nutrients that we process in our bodies into fuel. That will reduce not only carbon intensity but also toxic emissions."
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Piers MacNaughton
Associate Director of the Healthy Buildings Program; Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment

"Right now, 7 million people die each year from air pollution. I think that number will go down to zero by 2050, once the grid is completely fossil-fuel-free, transportation is decarbonized, and indoor sources of air pollution are removed."
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