Project Description and Definitions
Project Description
Given the urgent need for heightened public awareness about the impact of climate change and air pollution on human health, CPHA, in partnership with the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Nurses Association, the Canadian School Boards’ Association, Friends of the Earth and TransAlta Corporation has embarked on a two-part project to increase Canadians’ knowledge of these issues, with the ultimate aim of changing attitudes and encouraging responsible individual and group action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The project involves the administration of a survey within four sectors to determine the extent of public awareness initiatives in Canada which make the link between human health, climate change and air pollution. The survey will determine what is already being done to inform children and adults about the impact of climate change and air pollution on health. The results of the survey will guide CPHA in developing a national strategy that will inform future work in creating, supporting and strengthening public outreach initiatives on these issues.
The project has five main objectives that correspond with three distinct phases of work.
Phase I: Design and carry out a survey
1) Conduct a survey of stakeholder organizations from key sectors in order to investigate the scope and depth of current public awareness initiatives on the health effects of climate change and air pollution targeted to the general public and to primary and secondary students, and identify needs for support.
The groups to be surveyed will be from the following four sectors:
- the public health/health promotion sector (health professional associations, provincial and territorial branches and associations, national and provincial voluntary health associations, provincial and territorial ministries of health);
- the environmental advocacy sector;
- the education sector (primary and secondary);
- the private sector.
Phase II: Analyze, document and disseminate survey results
2) Identify the tools and resources needed by these organizations (such as information, funds, partnerships and other types of support) to more effectively carry out existing public awareness and educational initiatives or launch new ones.
3) Identify model initiatives, success stories and best practices among existing initiatives that could be reinforced or replicated.
4) Identify opportunities for creating linkages and partnerships and for leveraging resources (particularly with the private sector).
Phase III: Design a national strategy to support public awareness initiatives on the health effects of climate change and air pollution
5) Use the survey results as the basis for designing a national strategy to create, support and strengthen public outreach initiatives on the health effects of climate change and air pollution. This strategy would harness the collective expertise, energy and commitment of stakeholder organizations across Canada to reach the general public and primary and secondary school students.
The information from the survey would allow CPHA’s strategy to target areas where resources and efforts would be most cost-effectively directed. These are: a) critical needs and gaps; b) successful initiatives that can be built on or replicated; c) areas where linkages and partnerships could be effectively nurtured and resources leveraged.
Results expected
The project will have three tangible outcomes:
- an information base of current public awareness initiatives from each of the four sectors on the health effects of climate change and air pollution which are targeted to the general public and to primary and secondary students. This will include the tools and resources needed by organizations, as well as model initiatives, success stories and best practices among existing initiatives that could be reinforced or replicated.
- a web site that will allow individuals and organizations to gain easy access to selected information and resources on climate change, air pollution and human health.
- a national strategy that will guide the future work of CPHA in creating, supporting and strengthening public outreach initiatives on the health effects of climate change and air pollution.
The project will also create:
- increased awareness of stakeholder organizations in the four sectors identified regarding the links between climate change, air pollution and health through the process of being surveyed as well as receiving the survey results.
- enhanced opportunities for communication, information-sharing, partnerships, consultation and collaboration between stakeholder groups, and between these groups and CPHA.
- a strengthened network of stakeholder organizations to foster intersectoral partnerships working in the area of the health effects of climate change and air pollution.
Definitions
air pollution: air pollution refers to a number of ground level substances which directly damage health by entering the body when we breathe. Ground-level ozone, which is the main ingredient in smog, is formed when oxides of nitrogen meet with hydrocarbons in sunlight. In urban areas, up to three-quarters of the pollutants that combine to form ground-level ozone come from automobiles. For the purposes of this survey, air pollution refers only to outdoor air.
climate change: climate change refers to general, long-term shifts or alterations in the average condition or variability of weather, either regionally or globally. This is measured by changes in all the features we associate with weather, such as temperature, wind patterns, precipitation, and storms. Although an ongoing, natural process, climate change today reflects the dramatic increase in human activity on Earth (namely the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal) since the Industrial Revolution. The 20th century has been the warmest century in 600 years with the 1980s and 1990s being the warmest decades on record.
Kyoto Protocol: In Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, Canada and 160 other industrialized nations committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as part of an international agreement on climate change. Canada’s commitment under this protocol is to reduce its emissions to 6% below 1990 levels by the period between 2008-2012. This will require a 20 to 25 percent drop in emissions.
National Climate Change Implementation Strategy (NCCIS): a federal strategy managed by the Climate Change Secretariat which was established in reponse to the Kyoto Protocol. This strategy is scheduled to be completed by 2000 and will include recommendations made by experts from 16 “Issues Tables” ranging from public education and outreach, to business and industry on what Canada should do to meet Kyoto’s targets.
public awareness initiatives (PAIs): any program, action, event or material that intends to develop skills or increase knowledge which will ultimately effect change in the behaviour and attitudes of a target population. Examples of public awareness initiatives range from resource materials and training initiatives to classroom presentations and community action projects.