During the week of October 14th, Lisa Vaughan of CPO’s Climate and Societal Interactions Division represented NOAA in meetings of the partnership of 14 funding agencies, from 9 countries, supporting the Belmont Forum’s Collaborative Research Action on Climate, Environment and Health (CRA/CEH). The impact of climate on public health and well-being is emerging as a key challenge that society faces today, and one which will likely continue to increase as the climate changes. Collaboration with international partners in this important field is critical to understanding the effects on the US and our interests around the world, and to using climate data and information generated by OAR and its partners within and outside of NOAA to help society adapt and become more resilient. The National Science Foundation and the National Institutes for Health are among the funding partners involved in this innovative initiative to support interdisciplinary, international research focused on understanding the pathways between climate, environment, and health to protect and promote human health and well-being in the face of climate change and variability. NOAA/CPO and NSF are developing an inter-agency agreement to formalize the joint support of selected projects. While the proposals selected for funding are not finalized, those that will be supported through the NOAA-NSF partnership will address climate and adaptation related to heat, infectious disease and food and nutrition. Each proposal will be supported by at least 3 countries, and in many cases there are additional PIs who are fully funded from additional countries. While case studies are located in specific areas, the proposals are designed to offer knowledge, insight and decision support tools which can be used in other regions, including the US and regions where climate can affect U.S. economic, development, scientific and security interests.
CPO’s Lisa Vaughan represents NOAA in international meetings on climate and public health impacts
