Earth month giving campaign supports health-centered climate solutions

The Yale Center on Climate Change and Health (YCCCH) launched an Earth Month Giving Campaign in April to support health-centered climate solutions.

This is the first matching donation campaign for YCCCH, which was initiated in 2015 at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) to address the adverse impacts of climate change through research, education, public health practice, and policy development.

“At the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, we believe that protecting human health is the most powerful yet under-tapped driving force for climate action,” said Dr. Robert Dubrow, MD, professor of epidemiology, (environmental health sciences) and the center’s faculty director.

“With a backdrop of increasingly alarming trends in climate change indicators, we’re launching our Earth Month Giving Campaign to help us scale up our human health-focused approach to solving one of the world’s greatest challenges,” Dubrow added.

The first $20,000 in campaign donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of generous anonymous donors.

“I firmly believe in the transformative potential of prioritizing human health in driving climate action and combating climate change,” said one of the donors. “Matching donations reflects my commitment to amplifying the impact of this crucial YCCCH initiative. We’re not just investing in a cause; we’re investing in hope.”

“Fundraising for organizations like the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health is difficult but absolutely essential,” said another donor. “I’ve been extremely impressed by the sustained growth of the impact and scope of YCCCH over the past nine years and wanted to do my part to support that growth.”

YCCCH envisions a world with a stable and safe climate in which human health and diverse ecosystems can thrive. YCCCH works with academic, government, and civil society partners to make an impact locally, nationally, and globally. It integrates cutting-edge research and social justice into all of its work, which includes:

• A vibrant research program, based in the CHEN Lab, that focuses on revealing the full spectrum of health impacts of climate change.
• An innovative Program on Healthcare Environmental Sustainability that seeks to lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resilience of the health care sector.
• Membership in The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, an international collaboration that publishes an annual report in The Lancet.
• Sponsorship of a landmark virtual 2021 Conference on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States: Focus on the Caribbean that was held in collaboration with Caribbean and international partners.
• A Climate Change and Health Concentration at YSPH offered to all MPH students.
• An online Climate Change and Health Certificate Program offered to working professionals. The program has produced 700 graduates from 58 countries and nearly every U.S. state.
• A Program on Climate Change and Health in Connecticut that includes a CDC-funded partnership between YCCCH and the Connecticut Department of Public Health to build capacity in local health departments to address the health effects of climate change.
• A Clinic in Climate Justice and Public Health that trains interdisciplinary student teams to carry out applied research or practice projects related to the clinic’s theme.

“In less than 10 years, we’ve built a track record of world-class research, education, and public health practice. We’re now poised for even greater impact in this next critical decade for the climate and public health,” Dubrow said.