Presidents Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children
Working together through the Task Force, the federal government seeks to understand environmental health impacts and help to ensure opportunities for the development of healthy children.
Children are more susceptible to environmental exposures than adults owing to their developing body systems. Consequently they are more vulnerable to such exposures. There is a growing concern about the effects of climate change on children’s health.
There is need to understand how children may be exposed and how they may be affected by the human health threats posed by climate change. The President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, a federal interagency group, stood up a Subcommittee on Climate Change, which is co-chaired by NIEHS, EPA, and DHS.
In July 2014, the Subcommittee hosted an Expert Consultation on the Effects of Climate Change on Children’s Health to explore these issues and to help to inform an ongoing U.S. Global Change Research Program health assessment of climate change. The session recordings from this meeting are below.
Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment
Climate change is affecting the health of Americans1. As the climate continues to change, the risks to human health will grow, exacerbating existing health threats and creating new public health challenges. This assessment significantly advances what we know about the impacts of climate change on public health, and the confidence with which we know it. While all Americans will be affected by climate change, the report recognizes populations of concern, such as children, the elderly, outdoor workers, and those living in disadvantaged communities, who are disproportionately vulnerable.
Read the full report online
Video: Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment
