About


The Climate and Health initiative brings together cross-industry partners to build and scale solutions to climate change's growing threats to human health, workforces and economies. 

Climate-related health threats are outpacing investment, coordination, and the capacity of health systems to respond.


Closing the investment, coordination, and equity gaps demands a new kind of collaboration, one that connects the private sector, governments, and academia around a shared agenda, and translates evidence into action at scale.

14.5 million

additional deaths and $12.5 trillion in global economic losses are projected by 2050 due to climate change

$1.5 trillion

in productivity losses are predicted by 2050 across food & agriculture, built environment, and health & healthcare sectors

6.5 million 

lives could be saved by filling the $65 billion R&D investment gap within the 5-8 years from 2025

Our strategic framework

Addressing the health impacts of climate change demands a holistic and interconnected approach.

Evidence gathering to catalyze action


Map the current research and data on the impact of climate change on health, outlining the most significant gaps. 


Advocacy and visibility



Convene and amplify voices to advance a unified global approach by building a multisector community of thought leaders committed to advancing the climate and health agenda.

Incentivizing and scaling resilience 


Identify and accelerate evidence-based approaches to mitigate the health impacts of climate change across sectors and incentivise climate and health investment.

Our Steering Committee

Sandrine Bouttier-Stref

Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sanofi

Pam Cheng

Executive Vice President, Operations & IT and CSO, AstraZeneca

Dr Bechara Choucair

Senior Vice President, Chief Health Officer, Kaiser Permanente

Dr Alan Dangour

Director, Climate and Health, Wellcome Trust

Duhn Davar

Chief of Programs and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, AVPN

Dr Naveen Rao

Senior Vice President, Health Initiative, Rockefeller Foundation

Daniella Foster

Senior Vice President and Global Health of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability, Bayer

Dr Vanessa Kerry

CEO, Seed Global Health; WHO DG Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health

Nikolaj Gilbert

President and CEO, PATH

Melissa Leitner

Head, Life & Health Propositions and Sustainability, SwissRe

Dr Themasap Khan

Co-Founder & Partner, Luma Group

Zeynep Kantur Ozenci

Global Manager of Health, Solutions & Impact, World Bank Group

Dr Shyam Bishen

Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

Pim Valdre

Head of Climate & Nature Economy, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

Want to learn more or contribute?

Contact us if you have any questions about our initiative or working groups

Climate and Health

A World Economic Forum Initiative
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