Wieler, Lothar H.

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Journal of Health Monitoring 2022 7(S4)Journal of Health Monitoring EDITORIAL3Climate change − a burning topic for public healthClimate change − a burning topic for public healthThe climate crisis is arguably the greatest threat to human health and well-being. As illustrated by the COVID-19 pan-demic, rapid, but sustainable, action is crucial in public health crises and in the climate crisis no individual or health system will be left unaffected. While the world’s attention was focussed on the ongoing acute COVID-19 crisis, the health effects of human-induced climate change continue to accumulate [1]. Public health has many opportunities to proactively address the health impacts of climate change and public health experts play a crucial role in the prevention of climate-related diseases [2]. Consequently, as the national public health insti-tute, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has an important role to play in climate change adaptation and mitigation. The RKI has longstanding expertise in the field of One Health which has been guiding the institute’s work on zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance as well as wider areas such as environmental health for a number of years. To further strengthen its existing expertise and build new capacities, the RKI has recently extended its focus and is increasing its efforts in the area of effects of climate change on health. In 2022, the RKI established its Office for Climate Change and Health, responsible for coordinat-ing all internal and external activities as well as external requests and cooperation regarding this subject. Under the institute’s cross-departmental working group on climate change and health, existing activities will be drawn together, thereby promoting internal exchange, cooperation and cohesion. The goal of the RKI is to strategically intensify its work in the area of climate change and health and to become a ‘key climate actor’ [3].There is still much that needs to be done and it cannot be done alone. To address this complex issue, diverse cross-sectoral knowledge and networks are needed, in order to exchange knowledge and approaches. Therefore, the RKI closely collaborates with other national public health insti-tutes through the International Association of National Public Health Institutes’ (IANPHI) Committee on Climate Change and Health. To further signal the institute’s per-ception of climate change as a major health threat, for this year’s Robert Koch Colloquium (RKC), the RKI put the spot-light on ‘Climate change and public health’ to share the knowledge of renowned experts in this field. This edition of the Journal of Health Monitoring focusses on the RKC 2022 which addressed the effects of climate change on population health and potential adaptation and mitigation solutions. The Colloquium was composed of five lectures and concluded with a panel discussion. Each lecture touched upon a specific aspect of the relationship between climate change and health. Sabine Gabrysch from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) spoke about how human health fun-damentally depends on the functioning of ecosystems and a stable climate, by diagnosing the planetary health crisis. She concluded by proposing a positive transformation towards healing, well-being and quality of life including the people and the planet (see Gabrysch 2022). Arturo Casade-vall of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, addressed the connections between microbial virulence, mammals and climate change. The speaker presented the hypothesis that fungal diseases contributed to both the extinctions at the Journal of Health Monitoring · 2022  7(S4) DOI 10.25646/10387Robert Koch Institute, Berlin Lothar H. WielerRobert Koch Institute, Berlin PresidentSubmitted: 01.08.2022 Accepted: 10.08.2022 Published: 31.08.2022Journal of Health Monitoring 2022 7(S4)Journal of Health Monitoring EDITORIAL4Climate change − a burning topic for public healthend of the Cretaceous geological epoch that resulted in the demise of the dinosaurs and to the great mammalian radi-ation that followed in the tertiary era. This lecture touched on possible consequences of climate change for the emer-gence of new fungal diseases as fungal species adapt to a warmer world (see Casadevall 2022). Lyle Petersen from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spoke about climate change and vector-borne diseases, using the examples of mosquito- and tickborne diseases. His lecture explored current concepts of how climate change is expected to impact the emergence of vector-borne disease in the context of the many other interacting biological, ecological, and sociological drivers of such diseases (see Petersen et al. 2022). Aleksandra Kazmierczak from the European Envi-ronment Agency (EEA) spoke about climate-related haz-ards and their implications for health and well-being, espe-cially focussing on vulnerable groups in Europe (see Kazmierczak 2022). Lastly, Maria Neira from the World Health Organization (WHO) presented the health argu-ment for climate action, stressing that climate mitigation and adaptation is public health prevention. She reiterated the importance of health co-benefits in climate change mit-igation, the importance of health (equity) in all policies and ended with ten prescriptions for action. The RKC 2022 con-cluded with a panel discussion which brought together Daniela Jacob (Director of the Climate Service Center Ger-many), Dirk Messner (President of the German Environ-ment Agency), Thomas Mettenleiter (President of the Fed-eral Research Institute for Animal Health) and Lothar H. Wieler (President of the Robert Koch Institute), who dis-cussed possible next steps for climate change and health in Germany. Moderated by Maike Voss (Managing Director of the Centre for Planetary Health Policy), the key aspects addressed included climate change-related challenges fac-ing the public health community in Germany, concrete tasks of the German public health community to protect the climate and mitigate the effects of climate change on health, the importance of cross-institutional and sectoral collaboration, the contribution of the RKI and the recom-mendations for action for public health from a scientific perspective as well as next steps.The RKI can be a key actor in the field of climate change and public health through its evidence-based scientific rec-ommendations on topics such as heat mortality, nutrition and physical activity and health behaviour but also through its surveillance and monitoring activities. Health monitor-ing and surveillance will play a major role in identifying epidemiological developments in time as well as in under-standing causes and correlations. Risk analyses, health reporting, communication and collaboration must accom-pany all of these activities. Finally, it is important to set an example by reducing the institute’s CO2 footprint with the RKI’s concept of ‘RKI Greening’. As the natural historian and biologist, David Attenbor-ough, once said ‘Self-interest is for the past, common inter-est is for the future’. To succeed in the task ahead, this has to become the guiding principle.Corresponding authorProf Dr Dr h c mult Lothar H. WielerRobert Koch InstitutePresidentNordufer 2013353 Berlin, GermanyE-mail: President@rki.deJournal of Health Monitoring 2022 7(S4)Journal of Health Monitoring EDITORIAL5Climate change − a burning topic for public healthPlease cite this publication asWieler LH (2022) Climate change − a burning topic for public health. J Health Monit 7(S4): 3–6. DOI 10.25646/10387The German version of the article is available at: www.rki.de/journalhealthmonitoringConflicts of interestThe author declares that there is no conflict of interest.References1. Romanello M, McGushin A, Di Napoli C et al. (2021) The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future. Lancet 398(10311):1619–16622. Böckmann M, Hornberg C (2020) Klimawandel und Gesundheit: Neue Herausforderungen für Public Health. Public Health Forum 28(1):81–833. The International Association of National Public Health  Institutes (2021) Engaging and supporting national public  health institutes as key climate actors.  https://ianphi.org/news/2021/roadmap-climate-change.html  (As at 09.08.2022)Journal of Health Monitoring 2022 7(S4)Journal of Health Monitoring EDITORIAL6Climate change − a burning topic for public healthThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.The Robert Koch Institute is a Federal Institute within  the portfolio of the German Federal Ministry of HealthImprint Journal of Health Monitoringwww.rki.de/journalhealthmonitoring-enPublisherRobert Koch InstituteNordufer 20 13353 Berlin, GermanyEditorial OfficeDepartment of Epidemiology and Health MonitoringUnit: Health ReportingGeneral-Pape-Str. 62–6612101 Berlin, GermanyPhone: +49 (0)30-18 754-3400E-mail: healthmonitoring@rki.deEditor-in-ChiefDr Thomas Ziese, Deputy: Dr Anke-Christine SaßEditorsDr Martina Groth, Johanna Gutsche, Dr Birte Hintzpeter, Dr Kirsten Kelleher, Dr Franziska Prütz, Dr Alexander Rommel,  Dr Livia Ryl, Dr Anke-Christine Saß, Stefanie Seeling, Simone StimmTypesettingKatharina Behrendt, Alexander Krönke, Kerstin MöllerkeISSN 2511-2708NoteExternal contributions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the  Robert Koch Institute.

Climate change − a burning topic for public health

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Climate change − a burning topic for public health

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