Bridging the Gap Between Research and Action on Climate Change and Health

Project Partner: C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy, Summer 2023 – present

Project Summary:  Climate change is the greatest modern threat to public health. With over 4 billion people around the world residing in cities, urban areas are uniquely vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change. Framing climate change as a public health problem and emphasizing the immediate health benefits of climate action will allow city Mayors to foster greater support and urgency for climate policies.

Quinn partnered with the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy to provide cities with the latest evidence on emerging urban climate and health threats.

In her ongoing role as scholar in residence with the C40 Centre, she led the editorial team on C40’s first special issue on climate change and public health in the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy. She hosted a research marketplace session at the CAFÉ annual conference to foster the effective transfer of science-based evidence for climate policy development. This session was attended by nearly 100 policymakers, practitioners, and academics around the world. She traveled to the C40 headquarters in London to assist in the development of a formal 5-year workplan for the Centre to strategically include health in their ongoing work. She created numerous policy briefs and participated as a guest on the C40 Centre “Cities 1.5” Podcast to translate emerging evidence on climate and health. She also had the opportunity to prepare language on the health impacts of urban air pollution for a speech from London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, at an event for Mayors during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

She continues to partner with C40 Cities to carry out the Centre’s public health priorities.

Project Deliverables:

• Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, Special Issue on Climate Change and Health
• Policy brief on the health benefits of low emission zones in urban areas.