Poverty, Health Equity, and Climate Change
There is increasing evidence of negative implications of climate change for health and wellbeing. With a focus on at-risk populations, these knowledge mobilization initiatives aim to provide direction for research, policy and service sectors.
In the broadest sense, the information that we have gathered has validated the ‘threat multiplier’ nature of climate change with respect to people experiencing poverty, both in Canada and globally. Poverty is a key factor in individual and community vulnerability to environmental risks. These risks revolve around, and are compounded by several intersections, as a function of factors such as age, gender, and access to shelter. Indigenous and racialized identities play key roles as well, with climate change representing another facet of colonial histories characterized by rights violations and exclusion. Specific environmental risks addressed in the literature and in our think tanks included heat and cold, wildfires, air pollution, and secondary risks such as poor food security.
The initiatives were established by Dr. Sean Kidd, Chief Psychologist and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
Contact Us: ClimateHealth@camh.ca
Framework
Climate Change and Homelessness: A global response framework
Global Initiative
This initiative was established in 2019. The objective of this network is to provide policy, service, and research direction as they relate to the implications of climate change for global homelessness – drawing on the best available expertise globally alongside systematic reviews of the literature.
The foundational work of this group was made possible by the Living Within the Earth’s Carrying Capacity program, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Resources
Academic Publications
- A response framework for addressing the risks of climate change for homeless populations
- Climate Change, Weather, Housing Precarity, and Homelessness: A Systematic Review of Reviews
- The Climate Change–Homelessness Nexus
- Global Climate Implications for Homelessness: A Scoping Review
- Shelter is key to delivering on COP27 commitments
- Neoliberalism, Climate Change, and Displaced and Homeless Populations: Exploring Interactions Through Case Studies
Network Generated Media
Other Media
Reports
- Year 1 Final Report: Climate Change and Homelessness: Generating a Response Framework
- Year 1 Evidence Brief: The Climate Crisis and the Housing Crisis: Considering Climate Change Repercussions for Homeless and Marginally Housed Populations
- Health of the Homeless and Climate Change – Homeless Hub Research Summary Series
Knowledge Mobilization
Canada Initiative
The Canadian Poverty, Health Equity, and Climate Change knowledge mobilization initiative started in 2022 with funding from the McConnell Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This initiative aims to improve Canada’s climate change mitigation and adaptation responses as they relate to individuals, families, and communities that are experiencing poverty.
This initiative has established networks of experts, policymakers and community organizations and provides research, policy, education, and service direction based on the best available evidence on the climate change-poverty-health nexus in Canada.
Through a co-designed process, these networks are engaged in an array of activities, including literature reviews, think tanks, and participatory lived experience engagement. An intersectional lens is applied with specific emphases on the experiences of women, children and youth, older adults, and populations experiencing homelessness and housing precarity. Connecting and aligning this work with Indigenous communities, racialized communities, and other key points of intersection is a priority in this effort.