Climate Change: Emerging Diseases and Financial Impacts - June 18, 2003
Briefing for Congress
(PDF)
Dear Colleague Letter from SenatorJames M. Jeffords (I-VT), Congressman Earl Blumenaur (D-OR), Congressman John W. Olver (D-MA) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Made possible through generous support from The New York Commnity Trust and the Winslow Foundation.
Concerns about climate change are often placed into the distant future. However, as the rate of climate change increases, so do the biological responses and the damages associated with extreme and unstable weather. The responses of ecological systems have already begun to alter the patterns of disease and disease vectors, and societal responses will have a range of implications for health and the financial sectors.
The session on June 18 will pay special attention to the health and financial impacts associated with climate change. The rising rates of asthma and CO2 will be used as a case study to elucidate the link between increasing levels of CO2, pollen counts, asthma and allergies. Effects of extreme weather events and emerging diseases, such as West Nile virus, will also be covered. The briefing will also examine the various travel hazards and infrastructure damages associated with climate change as well as the insurance and reinsurance industry's rising costs and risks. The briefing will cover potential liabilities for corporations with inadequate programs to reduce greenhouse gas (?HG) emissions, as well as the business opportunities open to those corporations and insurnace companies involved in national and interntaional emissions trading and the development of renewable and energy-efficient technologies.
Panel:
Paul R. Epstein, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment. Emerging Diseases and Asthma: The Health Impacts of Climate CHange and Rising CO2.
Christopher T. Walker, Managing Director, Greenhouse Gas Risk Solutions, Financial Services Business Group, Swiss Re. Climate Change and the Financial SEctor: Risks, Liabilities and Business Opportunities.
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