(CCCCC Media Release 2021/010)
(City of Belmopan, Belize; June 8, 2021) – Over eighty participants from the CARIFORUM region participated in a two-day online training on climate change and health co-benefits, organized and hosted by PAHO/WHO Office of the Sub-regional Program Coordination for the Caribbean from June 1 -2, 2021.
The webinar was convened to motivate stakeholders from the sixteen CARIFORUM States towards measuring the health co-benefits of climate mitigation, present an overview of health impact assessment tools, explain their application in the Americas, and provide an opportunity to dialogue around opportunities for the application of health co-benefit tools in the Caribbean.
During the 6-hour session held over two (2) days, more than 17 global and regional health experts representing well-known agencies such as the UNFCCC, WHO, PAHO, the Colorado State University; Ministry of health, Columbia; Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Mexico; CARICOM Secretariat; European Union; Saint George’s University; and University of Oregon made presentations to participants. These experts presented on topics that strengthened the case for the importance of reducing carbon emissions, to achieve the gains of health co-benefits associated with air quality, transportation, and green spaces. The assortment of WHO/PAHO tools presented were:
- Health Impact Assessment (HIA) – which evaluates the potential health effects of a plan, project, or policy before being built or implemented.
- AirQ+ – which quantifies the health burden and impact of air pollution, assessing exposure to ambient air pollution.
- Carbon H- The Carbon Reduction Benefits on Health calculation tool – which quantifies the physical and economic consequences for human health achieved through improvements in country-level air quality.
- Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) – used for the economic valuation of health effects of cycling and walking.
- Green UR – which measures green space availability, to raise awareness on the importance of green space and health.
The tools stimulated the interests of participants who were favorably engaged throughout the 2-day session, making full utility of the interactive chat platform, posing a variety of questions, and some demonstrating notable interest in piloting the tools in their individual Member State, much to the delight of the PAHO technical team present at the workshop.
The workshop closed on a high note with the PAHO senior technical team all expressing delight at the level of interest and participation, which they described as “beyond their expectations’. This pushes us to work harder to meet the needs of Member States and fast track the introduction of the tools”, noted Daniel Buss, PAHO’s Advisor in Climate Change and Public Health.
Dr Jonathan Drewry Regional Advisor in Climate Change and Health, in his closing remarks acclaimed that: It was truly a global event, which provides us with the opportunity to both modify and pilot the tools for the CARIFORUM area.
“These are instruments to be used by the countries” said Marcelo Korc, Unit Chief in Climate Change and Environmental Determinants of Health at Pan American Health Organization. “This Pan American and global experience has been tremendous for us, and we take the opportunity to also thank the EU for partnering on this effort. We are doing this work, with you and for you, he told participants, “and we want to work on this path together”, he concluded.
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC/5Cs) is one of five main sub-regional partners collaborating with PAHO/WHO for the implementation of the 2020-2025 EU/CARIFORUM Climate Change and Health Project. The webinar is one of several activities aimed at sensitizing CARIFORUM countries about the availability of the tools that can help to inform various development and climate resilience building initiatives, as the region continues to target interventions aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on health.
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The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre is an inter-governmental Caribbean Community (CARICOM) institution that is mandated by the CARICOM Heads of Government to coordinate the Region’s response to climate change. We maintain the Caribbean’s most extensive repository of information and data on climate change specific to the region, which in part enables us to provide climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to CARICOM Member States. In this role, the Centre is recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean. The Centre is also one of the few institutions recognized as a Centre of Excellence by United Nations Institute for Training and Research. CCCCC is empowering the Caribbean Community to act on climate change. -END-
