Submission to Australian Government consultation on first National Health and Climate Strategy
The Australian Government is developing the first ever National Health and Climate Strategy. This reflects the urgent need to prepare for current and projected climate change-related health challenges.
Challenges include:
- More frequent and severe weather events
- Extreme temperatures
- Poor air quality
- The physical and mental health impacts of climate change.
In June 2023, the Department of Health and Aged Care announced a national consultation on the proposed objectives and principles of the strategy. This was an important opportunity to help shape the Australian government’s priorities and governing frameworks for climate and health policy.
The Climate CATCH Lab led a University wide submission, combining expert inputs from 12 senior and early to mid-career academics. Our submission addressed many of the questions outlined in the consultation paper, and emphasised the need to prioritise both mitigation and adaptation actions to ensure health care systems, workers and decision-makers are equipped to respond to the growing impact of climate change on the health and wellbeing of Australians.