Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

We are pleased to share our new article, “Advancing and integrating climate and health policy in the United States: Insights from national policy stakeholders,” in The Journal of Climate Change and Health. This research is based on interviews conducted in 2024 (prior to the Trump Administration) with a diverse group of 65 policy stakeholders working on climate or health policy and related topics, including legislative staff, civil servants, academic experts, think tank employees, and advocates.

Key takeaways:

• Stakeholders think that federal climate policy and health policy are mostly separate, but are becoming more integrated. They said further integration could increase support for climate policy and maximize its health benefits.
• They identified many barriers to better policy integration, such as lack of funding, conservative opposition, and silos in federal agencies and professional communities.
• They proposed a range of strategies including enhancing communication, education, and research; strengthening intra- and interagency initiatives; participatory policymaking; focusing first on politically feasible policies; and persistent advocacy.

These goals, barriers, and strategies, as well as others, are detailed in the publication. We hope they will be of use for those seeking to advance policies that protect the climate and safeguard human health.

Although many federal climate and health policies are currently being reversed, many of the insights continue to be actionable at the state and local level. The findings also can inform climate and health policies in other countries.