Biden Harris transition

As Biden targets climate change, we must focus attention on public health: Dr. Richard J. Jackson

A key transition document is largely blind to the significant health threats related to climate change.

Covid-19, the economy and climate change rank as the three greatest challenges facing the incoming Biden Administration.


Human health and the need for substantive and influential health leadership weave through all three.

But the looming public health crisis associated with climate change deserves particular attention.

Biden's policy developers are being informed by the "Climate 21 Transition Report," a group of recommendations for the White House and federal agencies developed by environmental leaders at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University.

This thoughtful first-step action plan offers guidance as to how the nation and the Biden Administration should approach the human, environmental, economic, and cultural damages that will be wrought by climate heating.

The report, however, has an unfortunate blind spot: It fails to capture the importance of health in efforts to mitigate and manage climate harms.

Given the substantial health threats related to climate change – and that the medical care industry is 18 percent of the U.S. economy, 10 percent of the nation's workforce and five percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, a robust health accounting is essential.

The summary document mentions "health" four times across 31 pages, though never in ways a physician would find salient. While many agencies are listed, the Department of Health and Human Services is nowhere to be found.

Directions and thoughts about the Office of Management and Budget (enormously influential in the actions of government but often health-unfriendly) also do not contain the word "health." Other key terms – "illness," "disease," CDC, NIH, "hospital," "medical," even "suffering" – are also absent. The words "sickness" and "death" only appear twice.

The portion on the Department of Interior fails to identify human health at all, nor does it address physical activity, walking, or other health-promoting activities that would relate to the national parks and other important health-promoting assets. As we think about the future, the words "children" and "happiness" never appear.

In terms of quality and safety of human life, and in the provision of medical care, the production of energy and delivery of fuels and electric power are extraordinarily important. Yet, health never appears in the energy section.

In many ways, the most important agencies dealing with health are the Departments of Defense and of State. In the brief related to State (diplomacy, agreements, picking your battles, talking is better than killing), health again goes unaddressed. The Defense Department as well as the Department of Veterans' Affairs manage immense health systems, yet these are not recognized.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences defines "public health" as a fulfillment of society's interest in assuring the conditions where people can be healthy. As an elected member of the institute and as a physician, I call on my fellow doctors to urge the Biden Transition Team to counter and reverse adverse human health impacts of climate heating.

We face a public health emergency. We must maintain a strong and powerful focus on the ways that public health can meet its mandate to create conditions where people can be healthy.

Dr. Richard J. Jackson is a pediatrician and professor emeritus at the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was previously director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health.

Ornate Parliament Hill building and clock tower in Canada's capital city.

Mark Carney’s rise places Trump between two quiet climate champions

Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, both seasoned climate advocates, now flank President Trump, creating a North American dynamic where climate leadership persists even when it’s not a campaign focus.

Justin Worland reports for TIME.

Keep reading...Show less
A kitchen wall with cabinets and an oven
Credit: Ida/Pixabay

Energy Star program faces shutdown as EPA reorganizes under Trump administration

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate the Energy Star program and other climate initiatives as part of a major agency reorganization, according to internal documents and recordings.

Lisa Friedman and Rebecca F. Elliott report for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Two men holding rope and setting up a roof for solar panels.

Political shifts stall $8 billion in clean energy projects as U.S. renewables boom

The U.S. clean energy sector has grown dramatically, but policy uncertainty under President Trump has already led to the cancellation or downsizing of nearly $8 billion in renewable projects this year.

Ames Alexander reports for Floodlight.

Keep reading...Show less
Sign in front of electric vehicle chargers that says 'Electric Vehicle Only'.

Why some House Democrats helped block California’s 2035 gas car ban

Thirty-five House Democrats joined Republicans to overturn California’s plan to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035, citing concerns about affordability and heavy industry lobbying.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Mining excavator in a mine pit.

Trump administration accelerates Alabama coal expansion mostly for foreign steel markets

The Trump administration is expediting the approval of a major Alabama coal mine expansion despite environmental and safety concerns, with most of the coal destined for export to foreign steelmakers.

Lee Hedgepeth reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
LNG storage tank with a red sky in the background.

Louisiana expands LNG exports as Trump fast-tracks new terminal permits

A new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal is moving forward in southwest Louisiana, adding to the state’s growing LNG footprint as federal and state officials push for more fossil fuel infrastructure.

Tristan Baurick reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Big Ben and Parliament building in the United Kingdom.

UK residents take government’s climate strategy to European human rights court

Two British men argue that the UK’s failure to protect them from climate-related harm violates their human rights and have escalated their case to Europe’s top human rights court.

Damien Gayle reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.