China's public health initiatives for climate change adaptation

John S Ji; Yanjie Xia; Linxin Liu; Weiju Zhou; Renjie Chen; Guanghui Dong; Qinghua Hu; Jingkun Jiang; Haidong Kan; Tiantian Li; Yi Li; Qiyong Liu; Yanxiang Liu; Ying Long; Yuebin Lv; Jian Ma; Yue Ma; Kinay Pelin; Xiaoming Shi; Shilu Tong; Yang Xie; Lei Xu; Changzheng Yuan; Huatang Zeng; Bin Zhao; Guangjie Zheng; Wannian Liang; Margaret Chan; Cunrui Huang

doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100965

China's public health initiatives for climate change adaptation

Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2023 Nov 15:40:100965. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100965. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

John S Ji¹, Yanjie Xia¹, Linxin Liu¹, Weiju Zhou¹, Renjie Chen², Guanghui Dong³, Qinghua Hu⁴, Jingkun Jiang⁵, Haidong Kan², Tiantian Li⁶, Yi Li⁷, Qiyong Liu⁸, Yanxiang Liu⁷, Ying Long⁹, Yuebin Lv⁶, Jian Ma¹, Yue Ma⁹, Kinay Pelin¹⁰, Xiaoming Shi^{6

11}, Shilu Tong^{6

12}, Yang Xie¹³, Lei Xu¹, Changzheng Yuan¹⁴, Huatang Zeng¹⁵, Bin Zhao¹⁶, Guangjie Zheng⁵, Wannian Liang¹, Margaret Chan¹, Cunrui Huang¹

Affiliations

¹ Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
² School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and National School of Public Health, Health Commission Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen, China.
⁵ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
⁶ National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
⁷ Public Meteorological Service Centre, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, China.
⁸ National Institute of Infectious Diseases at China, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
⁹ School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
¹⁰ School of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
¹¹ Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
¹² School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
¹³ School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
¹⁴ School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
¹⁵ Shenzhen Health Development Research and Data Management Center, Shenzhen, China.
¹⁶ Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

China's health gains over the past decades face potential reversals if climate change adaptation is not prioritized. China's temperature rise surpasses the global average due to urban heat islands and ecological changes, and demands urgent actions to safeguard public health. Effective adaptation need to consider China's urbanization trends, underlying non-communicable diseases, an aging population, and future pandemic threats. Climate change adaptation initiatives and strategies include urban green space, healthy indoor environments, spatial planning for cities, advance location-specific early warning systems for extreme weather events, and a holistic approach for linking carbon neutrality to health co-benefits. Innovation and technology uptake is a crucial opportunity. China's successful climate adaptation can foster international collaboration regionally and beyond.

Keywords: Adaptation; Carbon neutrality; China; Climate change; Early warning system; Environmental engineering; Green space; Health co-benefits; Health policy; Healthy city; Indoor; One health; Public health; Sustainable development; Temperature; Vulnerability analysis.

Publication types

Review