GAD outlines UK climate-health risks at ageing webinar
GAD sets out how climate change and health risks interact as the UK ages, with new systems mapping to guide better polic...
The Government Actuary’s Department has used a recent international webinar to make a wider point about climate policy: if decision-makers want to protect health in an ageing society, they need to stop treating risks one by one. Speaking at “Unpicking the web: climate change and health”, GAD’s Head of Climate and Disaster Risk, Georgina Bedenham, set out how systems thinking can help explain the relationship between climate change, health and later life. That matters because climate impacts do not stay neatly inside one sector. For older people in particular, the pressure can move quickly from weather shocks to disrupted care, tighter public finances and weaker community support, turning a climate event into a broader health challenge.
According to the Government Actuary’s Department, climate-related hazards can affect health both directly and indirectly. Bedenham pointed to immediate risks such as flooding and storms causing injuries and affecting mental health, while extreme heat...