Major grants for research into the impact of climate change on health

“These two grants complement each other. Cascades examines the scale of the health risks and who is most severely affected. Spira is about how we can translate that knowledge into concrete measures in areas such as spatial planning and healthcare,” says Petter Ljungman.

When climate-related events coincide

In the Cascades project, researchers will examine how people’s health is affected when several extreme climate- and weather-related events occur at the same time or in close succession. This could involve, for example, repeated heatwaves or periods with both high temperatures and air pollution.

Using national registers covering around ten million people, the researchers will study links with cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and mental ill health. They will also identify particularly vulnerable groups and examine whether current climate adaptation measures reach those who need protection the most.

From research to social change

The second initiative, Spira, is a new research centre that will address a central question: How can society make climate transitions while protecting and promoting health, and use health as a unifying force for action?

The research covers, among other things, how health can be integrated into climate policy, how residential areas can be designed to promote both health and the climate, and how children’s and young people’s food environments can be changed. Another area is how healthcare can adapt to climate change while also reducing its own climate impact.

“For healthcare, the research could, for example, provide better knowledge about which patients are at greatest risk during a heatwave and what measures are needed for healthcare services to be better prepared,” says Petter Ljungman.

Both initiatives are being carried out in collaboration with other universities and social actors. By combining research on health risks with the development of preventive measures, the aim is to contribute to a society that is both better equipped for climate change and promotes people’s health.