Climate change and human health: Challenges and opportunities

Groups related to this event

Centre for Health Informatics
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research
Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science

Event date

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Climate change has been described as the most serious health threat of the 21^st century. Increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme events are already occurring, both globally and in Australia, with direct repercussions for human health and well-being. Indirect impacts of climate on health, via changes in the distribution of vector-, food and water-borne diseases, also have the capacity to affect large sections of our population. While the awareness of climate change as a health issue in Australia is growing, adaptation responses are under-developed, presenting abundant research opportunities.

Speaker profile

Lesley Hughes is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Integrity and Development) at Macquarie. She is an ecologist with a long-standing research interest in the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems. She is a former Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4^th and 5^th Assessment Reports and a former federal Climate Commissioner. She is now a Councillor with the Climate Councillor of Australia, a Director of WWF-Australia, and a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. In 2014 she was awarded the Eureka Prize for Promoting Australian Science Research.

Date: Thursday 16 April, 2015

Time: 12 noon – 1pm

Venue: Seminar Room Level 1, 75 Talavera Rd

Chairperson: Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite.