Mitigation and Adaptation – Two Sides of the Climate Change Coin
Most of us are familiar with the 2015 Paris Agreement that set the primary global warming target at 1.5 degree C above pre-industrial levels. The approach has been to focus efforts on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and those strategies are collectively termed mitigation. Many of us are also aware that the Paris target is rapidly becoming out of reach, and current modelling suggests a 2.2 – 3.4 dec C rise in global temperature by 2100. Dramatic cuts to GHG’s and net-zero emissions (production minus carbon capture) by 2050 and beyond remains the best mitigation avenue to keep to the lower end of the predicted temperature range.
Adaptation refers to adjusting to the unavoidable impacts of a warming planet. This involves everything from planting drought-resistant crops to building resilient infrastructure to preparing communities for severe weather events.
As doctors we can have a role in adaptation and can help our patients through the inevitable extreme hot weather events. The heat dome of 2021 showed us, tragically, that high sustained temperatures can be deadly, especially for vulnerable populations – older adults, individuals with schizophrenia or other mental health issues, and those living with poverty and in sub-optimal housing. We can proactively anticipate which of our patients may be at highest risk and provide them with information and support. Our interventions could include:
- Education about signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and preventive strategies by displaying the VCH Extreme Heat poster
- Providing information about cooling centres, misting stations and spray parks using the City of Vancouver Keep Cool map
- Linking vulnerable patients with a network that offers health check-ins for vulnerable residents. Your patients can be connected with NGO’s like MOSAIC and local neighbourhood houses, as well as BC Housing and VCH Home Health.
- Reviewing medications that can increase risk using the Canadian Pharmacist Association BADCLAP anagram . There may be opportunities to monitor patients more closely and/or adjust medications during heat waves.
It’s just April now, but summers are predicted to be hotter and longer in the future. Like many things in medicine early identification of patients at risk and targeted interventions can be lifesaving.