First Annual National Health And Climate Change Science And Policy Research Consensus Conference - How Will Climate Change Affect Priorities For Your Health Science And Policy Research?

Final Remarks

• Michael Sharpe

Sharpe noted that representatives of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Natural Sciences and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) were unable to attend and had sent their regrets.

Asked what links had been made with CIDA and IDRC, which both fund work related to ecosystems and health, Sharpe noted that there are many more research programs available and promised that "we will connect you with appropriate funding sources." He said that he has been informing CIDA and IDRC about the climate change and health issue. The international and interdisciplinary aspects of their work tie in perfectly with research in this area.

Asked for a listing of websites mentioned at this conference, Sharpe promised that these would be posted on the Health Canada site.

Sharpe remarked that many granting councils are now including climate change in their work. He said that he was quite pleased to see that more work is being supported in this area, and predicted that health and climate change will be one of the strategic questions targeted by CIHR.

Summaries of this conference will be delivered personally to all research funding agencies and programs, Sharpe promised. These organizations will also be called together to look for commonalities in the research questions, so that partnerships and links can be made more easily.

In terms of policy development, Health Canada has consulted with environmental NGOs and will start working more closely with the provincial ministries of health. A conference in September is planned for the policy community. Policy must be made based on the evidence - on its strengths and limitations - said Sharpe. The role of researchers is to identify strengths and limitations so that policy-makers understand the degrees of uncertainty. Policy-makers then identify policy gaps, which feeds into the research process. "It's a collaborative process," Sharpe emphasized.

Knowledge exchange is another focus for Health Canada, which will be sharing the research agenda, promoting health and climate change issues nationally and internationally, and developing an inventory of funding and partnership opportunities and data sources.

The department will be holding health issue seminars, in co-operation with a number of partners who can help to develop workshops on specific issues.

International work will also continue. Health Canada has submitted a proposal to the World Health Organization to convene a meeting on this subject with all the other ministries of health from around the world.

As Sharpe concluded the conference, he thanked participants and promised that Health Canada will continue to be the point of contact for health and climate change: "This is the beginning, and we have a long future ahead together."