(CNN) President Joe Biden’s first sweeping climate ordinance included the launch of a brand new office in the Department of Health and Human Services with an important mandate: to address the impact of climate change on public health.
But nearly a year after the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity was created, it has still not been funded by Congress. Without full-time staff, the office instead gets temporary staff from other parts of HHS to work on its initiatives, which include tackling extreme heat, air pollution from natural fire fumes, floods and working with disadvantaged communities that suffer disproportionately much from climate impacts.
Officials in the office told CNN that they cannot do the job properly without funding and more resources, especially as man-made climate change exacerbates extreme weather.
“Public health decisions must be based on the realities of climate change, and [the office] needs resources to make it happen at the federal level,” Rachel Levine, assistant health secretary at HHS, said in a statement to CNN.
Levine pointed to the latest wave of heat waves in the early season that has affected tens of thousands of millions in the United States. This week alone, as many as 80 million people were under heat alarm as the heat index rose to as high as 115 in the Midwest and South.
Heat is one of the most damaging climate change-related killers, and as global temperatures continue to rise, it is only expected to get worse. Researchers from Duke University and the University of Washington recently found that the United States could see as many as 100,000 more heat-related deaths a year as temperatures rise.
“Right now we’re seeing what extreme temperatures can do to human health and the quality of the environment,” Levine told CNN. “We cannot respond effectively in the Department of Health and Human Services without funding, staff and political support, and I hope Congress recognizes the value and importance of what we are trying to build here.”
The office has settled for the few resources it has, according to Aaron Bernstein, interim director C-CHANGE at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. But he said Congress needs to recognize the seriousness of the threat.
“It would be as if 9/11 happened and we did not set up the Department of Homeland Security, is basically what we do,” Bernstein told CNN.
Staffing challenges, and a broad mandate
Staffing challenges, and a broad mandate
At the start of August 2021, administration officials promised that the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity would “fulfill President Biden’s vision” to combat the climate crisis and the devastating health effects of extreme heat and forest fire smoke.
“We have always known that health is at the heart of climate change, and now we want to double a necessity: to fight climate change to help protect the public health of our society,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera. To see also : Contessa Partners & Memorial Hermann Health System Providing Home, Hospital-Based Care. in August.
Biden’s budget request to Congress asked for $ 3 million to fund eight full-time positions in the office. It has not yet received any funding. A spokesman for the House Grants Committee noted that the office would be funded during the fiscal year 2023 budget recently passed by the committee, but that budget must also be approved in the Senate, where Republicans are not sympathetic to Biden’s climate goals.
CNN spoke to two HHS officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the subject. Both officials said the team is making progress on a tight budget but needs congressional funding to fulfill the mission it was tasked with.
“We’ve been scraping and borrowing a bit to put together a team,” an official said.
With zero full-time employees, the climate office has instead been loaned out in detail from other agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. But their time there could be temporary. Detailed typically stay in a new office for 120 days, after which they must have approval to continue. Political nominees in the department’s climate office will only stay as long as Biden remains in office.
Another official added that the office hopes to hire some full-time staff in the coming months. But without dedicated funding, a stream of temporary details could slow projects and make it difficult for states and communities to keep up with who is in charge.
“There’s a long history of going out and talking and not being able to provide sustained support, and I do not at all want this office to repeat that,” the official said.
Coordinating crucial work
Those who work at OCCHE like to admit that it was never meant to be a massive office with billions in funding. To see also : 13 ideas for building a healthy lifestyle and the environment in which you can stand | Repair. Instead, they see it as a flexible agency that can coordinate the work of other departments dealing with climate change and its disasters, but which do not communicate often – such as the CDC and FEMA.
“Federal bureaucracies, their silos were built long before climate change was considered a major problem,” Bernstein told CNN, adding that until this year, FEMA did not consider extreme heat a disaster. “The reality is that the climate is affecting health right now and for many and many Americans.”
Even with few resources, HHS officials say they have been able to make progress. In addition to publishing informational climate health prospects on extreme heat and making outreach contact to affected communities, the office also works actively with major health organizations and hospitals to try to decarbonize the health sector. It recently announced that major pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Kaiser Permanente, agreed to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050.
“What we have put together in less than a year is a commitment from the United States to major reductions in greenhouse gases in the healthcare sector,” an official HHS CNN reported. “I can tell you with 100% certainty that it would not have happened without us working here.”
Other major focus has been to coordinate funding for cooling assistance to areas struggling with heat or getting air purifiers and better air filtration for communities that deal with forest fire smoke. Another official told CNN that the office is looking at existing state subsidy programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or Medicare Flex cards used to provide air filters to people in communities where forest fires are burning.
“It’s something you could do without a ton of money in your pocket, but with people who know where the right handles are,” the official said.
With the second major heat wave of the summer season baking the Midwest and Southeast this week, and fires continuing to rage in the southwest and Alaska, the health impact of climate change is clear and urgent.
“Ultimately, if governments do not separate these types of offices or people who work consciously on climate and health, we will fail,” an HHS official told CNN.
The Clinton administration launched the Climate Change Technology Initiative to spur the development of clean energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming, while saving money and creating jobs.
How can we stop global warming in 2021?
Here, Sky News looks at six of them. See the article : Men’s health is a priority.
- Eat less meat. The average carnivorous diet produces 7.2 kg of carbon dioxide a day, almost twice as much as a vegan diet. …
- Travel less by car and plane. …
- Use social media. …
- Avoid fast fashion. …
- Recycling – not just recycling. …
- Join a campaign group.
Is there global warming in 2021? 2021 was in line with the long-term man-made global warming trend of around 0.2 ° C (0.36 ° F) per year. decade. From India to England, Russia, China, New Zealand, USA, Indonesia, Uganda, Germany, … extreme rainfall and floods in just a few months.
How is global warming affecting us in 2021?
Global warming is causing deeper and longer droughts and exposing an increasing number of people around the planet to dangerous conditions such as food insecurity and lack of clean water. As of December 7, 2021, nearly 80% of the western United States is in severe drought.
What is the US currently doing about climate change?
The US will halve CO2 emissions over the next decade In collaboration with the private sector to strengthen climate innovation and investment, the administration creates new jobs in clean energy and improves US global competitiveness by upscaling the production and export of clean goods and services .
What is the US government doing to protect the environment? U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets limits on certain air pollutants. It also enforces federal laws on clean water and safe drinking water. The EPA also enforces federal rules to limit companies’ impact on the environment. For more information, visit EPA: Laws and Regulations.
What is being done to solve climate change?
For example, improvements in energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy, increases in wind and solar energy, biofuels from organic waste, setting a carbon price and protecting forests are all effective ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases that capture heat. The planet.
Has Victoria declared a climate emergency?
The city of Victoria declared a climate emergency in March 2019, uniting with cities across Canada that have joined the international movement to tackle the climate crisis, promising to accelerate climate action to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
How many councils have declared climate distress? About 300 councils have declared a climate crisis. Councils take steps to reduce their own carbon emissions and work with partners and communities to tackle the impact of climate change on their local area.
Has Australia declared a climate emergency?
On 31 May 2022, it adopted a proposal declaring that Australia is facing a climate emergency, both the lower and upper houses of the South Australian Parliament.
Has the Victorian government declared a climate emergency?
This means that 40.5% of Victorian local governments have declared a CE, compared to 26.5% of New South Wales local governments, 23.5% of South Australian local governments and 1.29% of Queensland local governments.
Which cities have declared a climate emergency?
In the United States: more than 24 cities have declared a climate emergency, most notably New York City (June 26, 2019), Hayward (January 15, 2019), San Francisco, and Chico (April 2, 2019). Hawaii became the first US state to declare a climate emergency on April 29, 2021.
What is the pause Act 2021?
Introduced in the House (01/25/2021) This bill perpetuates immigration restrictions introduced under public health emergency authorities to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 (i.e. coronavirus disease 2019) from abroad.
