The Lancet Countdown works to ensure that health is at the centre of how decision makers understand and respond to climate change. Through high-quality scientific data, we work to inform policies that can maximise the health benefits of climate action, and enable a world in which all populations can thrive.
Our Background
The 2015 Lancet Commission’s conclusion – that ‘tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century’ highlighted the need for a global monitoring system with the ability to engage policymakers and support health professionals.
In 2016 the Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change was formed to address this gap, beginning with a public consultation to identify key areas to track and monitor. The collaboration recognises that health should be at the centre of how governments and decision makers understand and respond to climate change, to maximise the human benefits of a robust response.
Publishing annually in The Lancet, with strategic and financial support from the Wellcome Trust, The Lancet Countdown is hosted by University College London, and works with almost 300 leading researchers from around the world to track and understand the evolving links between climate change and people’s health.
279
leading experts
112
collaborating institutions
6
regional centres
Director, Lancet Countdown Small Island Developing States
“We are facing a crisis on top of a crisis. People living in poorer countries, who are often least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, are bearing the brunt of the health impacts, but are least able to access funding and technical capacity to adapt to the deadly storms, rising seas, and crop-withering droughts worsened by global heating.”
The Wellcome Trust is a politically and financially independent global charitable foundation. The Wellcome Trust allows scientists and researchers to take on big problems, fuel imaginations, and spark debate, with the aim of improving health for everyone. The Our Planet, Our Health programme is a community of researchers who are taking on the challenges that food systems, increasing urbanisation and climate change pose to our health.
Founded in 1823, the Lancet family of world-class journals is committed to improving lives through medical research. With offices in London, New York, and Beijing. The Lancet publishes a weekly journal and monthly specialty journals in the fields of child & adolescent health, diabetes & endocrinology, digital health, gastroenterology & hepatology, global health, haematology, HIV, infectious diseases, neurology, oncology, planetary health, psychiatry, public health, respiratory medicine, and rheumatology.
