£2.3 Million Wellcome Trust Grant Awarded to Research Impact of Polar Climate Change on Human Health and Healthcare Sector

£2.3 Million Wellcome Trust Grant Awarded to Research Impact of Polar Climate Change on Human Health and Healthcare Sector

(IN BRIEF) The University of Exeter and its partners, including Arctic Basecamp, the World Economic Forum, Deloitte, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum through Aroha Geneva, have secured a £2.3 million grant from the Wellcome Trust for a research project examining the impact of polar climate change on global health and healthcare. This three-year project aims to raise awareness of underreported risks posed by polar climate tipping points, create integrated assessment models, and establish structured approaches for dialogue and action on adaptive solutions. The study focuses on polar regions, home to nine of the 16 global climate tipping points, to better understand their role in affecting human health and healthcare systems.

(PRESS RELEASE) EXETER, 17-Jan-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — University of Exeter, a public research university in Exeter, Devon, South West England, United Kingdom, announces that a groundbreaking research project focused on the effects of polar climate change on global health and healthcare has received a £2.3 million grant from the Wellcome Trust.

Led by the University of Exeter in collaboration with partners such as Arctic Basecamp, the World Economic Forum, Deloitte, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum through Aroha Geneva, the “Effects of Polar Climate Change on Global Health and Healthcare” project aims to address the underreported risks posed by polar climate tipping points to global health and the healthcare sector.

Polar regions are home to nine of the 16 global climate tipping points, with five expected to be triggered before a 2°C warming is reached. Understanding these regions’ roles in climate change is vital.

The project will create integrated assessment models to complement existing climate health analyses and assess the additional impacts of polar tipping points. Over the course of three years, it will consist of five work packages with three main objectives:

1. Integrate polar science knowledge into leading health outcome models and risk analytics.
2. Raise awareness and engage key audiences about the global health risks arising from polar change.
3. Establish structured approaches for dialogue and action on adaptive solutions, facilitating ongoing communication and engagement.

Gail Whiteman, Professor in Sustainability at the University of Exeter Business School and Executive Director of Arctic Basecamp, leads the project as Principal Investigator. She said: “I’m excited to get underway with this research project which will improve understanding and raise awareness of the risks of polar climate change to human health and healthcare systems.

“The polar regions are the control room of our climate system and are undergoing rapid change which drives global risk for human health. The five tipping points most likely to be triggered are in the polar regions, and we need to improve understanding of the risk they pose so that policy-makers can take action to preserve health and avert catastrophe.”

Gill Einhorn, Head of Innovation and Transformation at the Centre for Nature and Climate, World Economic Forum, highlighted the significance of this research in preparing leaders for the consequences of polar climate change on human health and the environment, stating “Polar risks to human health are one of the most valuable and least understood environmental agendas. The poles drive existential threat to the human species – from the food we eat to the value chains we rely on for our products, the security of our homes and our own health and wellbeing.

“This work helps prepare leaders for the speed and scale of the adaptation, loss and damages coming from cascading polar risk. It also offers a stark reminder of the value of fast and coherent emissions cuts to slow down polar change.”

The project’s three-year research initiative will address critical knowledge gaps regarding polar climate change’s impact on human health and healthcare systems, ultimately providing valuable insights to policymakers and the healthcare industry.

Media contact:
pressoffice@exeter.ac.uk

SOURCE: University of Exeter