About the Roundtable
The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) is host for the Roundtable on Health and Climate Change, a multi-stakeholder forum to review the health issues associated with the effects of climate change, and identify actions that can be taken that will have immediate beneficial effects.
The Roundtable brings together representatives from the health and environmental non-governmental organizations, the education and private sectors, industry, the Aboriginal community, academics and representatives of municipal, provincial and federal governments, to examine the health impacts of climate change and formulate how action can be taken to address them, for the benefit of all Canadians.
The objective of the Roundtable is to bring a group of 45-60 stakeholders together to:
- review the consensus on the health impacts of climate change;
- identify strategies related to research, professional and public education and outreach with respect to the health implications of climate change;
- clarify the contribution and role of the health sector in promoting the general public’s understanding of the health impacts of climate change and the need to take action;
- identify how the health sector can prepare for the impacts of climate change; and
- identify how the health sector can reduce its own contribution to climate change.
The outcome of the Roundtable is focussed on collective consensus and goal-setting, resulting in the development of a strategic plan to implement the recommendations identified by the participants. Mechanisms will be put in place to facilitate longer-term sustained follow-up, and linkages and partnerships will be created between health and other sectors to provide opportunities for new relationships to be developed that will strengthen collective action.