The 2019 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change was released last week. It represents the findings & consensus of 35 leading academic institutions & UN agencies with a view to ensuring that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate.

The Lancet Countdown is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration, dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, and providing an independent assessment of the delivery of commitments made by governments worldwide under the Paris Agreement.

The 2019 report presents an annual update of 41 indicators across five key domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement.

The science of climate change describes a range of possible futures, which are largely dependent on the degree of action or inaction in the face of a warming world. The policies implemented will have far-reaching effects in determining these eventualities, with the indicators tracked by the Lancet Countdown monitoring both the present-day effects of climate change, as well as the worldwide response.

Understanding these decisions as a choice between one of two pathways - one that continues with the business as usual response and one that redirects to a future that remains “well below 2°C” - helps to bring the importance of recognising the effects of climate change and the necessary response to the forefront.

Download the report here.