On December 4, the “Climate, Environment and Health” sub-forum of the 2nd International Forum on Engineering Education (IFEE) hosted by the Department of Earth System Science (DESS) of Tsinghua University was held online. Peng Gong, Dean of the School of Science and Dean of DESS, Tsinghua University; Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, Dean of the Vanke School of Public Health and Health, Tsinghua University; Andy Haines, former director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK; Professor, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University Cunrui Huang, Distinguished Professor Meibao Guan in the Field of Spatial Analysis and Health at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Zhimin Ye from the Harvard School of Public Health, and Qiyong Liu, a researcher at the Institute of Infectious Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, were the guests to conduct in-depth discussions around the theme of the forum. There were more than 150 spectators participating online.

Before the forum officially started, Peng Gong gave a brief introduction to the guests participating in the forum. He said that the purpose of this forum is to build a platform for exchanges among experts, scholars and the public from the fields of climate change, public health, etc., so that everyone has the opportunity to discuss the impact of climate change, health and environmental issues on education. Impact.

Dealing with climate change is of great urgency

In the forum, Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun talked from the ancient Greek philosopher who first began to pay attention to the impact of climate on health, and pointed out that frequent extreme climate events proved human's worries about climate change threatening health. In her speech, she took public health as the starting point and talked about related policies, especially China's measures in environmental protection and public health, and the important results achieved. For example, relocating factories with more serious air pollution to the outer suburbs, increasing the use of clean energy, and Tu Youyou discovering artemisinin. "I came to Beijing on a business trip and saw more and more days with the blue sky." Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun said frankly.

In her speech, she proposed that in the field of climate and environment, human beings, as participants, executors, and followers, should work together to reduce the impact of climate change on health. At the same time, scientists in the fields of climate, public health and health should also work together.

Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun highly affirmed China's commitment to carbon dioxide emission reduction and carbon neutrality. She said that China's commitment sent a strong signal to the international community. During the transition period of implementing green and low-carbon policies, a long-term low-carbon strategy should also be formulated to promote the process of global governance of climate change.

Andy Haines talked about the health of the planet and the impact of human activities on the natural environment. He said that although the large-scale use of primary energy, fossil fuels, fertilizers and water resources has promoted social and economic development, the abuse of natural resources has also caused many adverse effects, especially damage to human health. He pointed out that climate change threatens the ecosystem, triggers extreme weather events, and directly or indirectly affects health. At the same time, he also mentioned the current challenges facing humans in cognition, knowledge and actions in dealing with climate change. He said that in terms of cognition, human society should not be overly concerned about GDP growth, but should re-define the economy in terms of human health and planetary health; in terms of knowledge, it should not only focus on the biopharmaceutical field, but also strengthen the engineering , anthropology, urban research, nutrition and other disciplines; in terms of measures, we should consider reducing the use of fossil fuels and increasing the use of urban public transportation and low-carbon shipping. Finally, for slowing down the rate of global warming, Andy Haines believes that quick action must be taken, only in this way can the goal of zero carbon emissions be reached by the middle of this century.

Cunrui Huang explained the health risk status brought by climate change in combination with the health risk assessment work in China he was engaged in. At the same time, he proposed that education on the relationship between disease and climate change should be strengthened. The curriculum of the medical school. In addition, medical workers should first become advocates of new policies, because good policies can not only prevent climate change, but also bring health to mankind. At the same time, medical workers should also play a consulting role in their work and reduce the impact of climate change or extreme weather on human health by changing human behavior. At the end of his speech, he said that the best opportunity to improve human health in the 21st century may be to properly address climate change. Climate change forces people to rethink consumption habits, energy choices and lifestyles. "Tackling climate change is not tomorrow's choice, but a key point we have to consider today." Cunrui Huang said.

Meibao Guan discussed the issue of "balance between sustainable development and the environment", emphasizing the relationship between economic growth and social development. She used her research as an entry point and introduced the impact of human space activity trajectory on the environment through specific cases. Through research, it is found that human movement has an important impact on the environment. However, due to the uncertainty of human movement, relevant policies are needed to more reasonably balance the relationship between the two.

Zhimin Ye said that although there are more and more knowledge reserves related to climate, environment and health, it is more important to really put it into action. She mentioned the cooperation and coordination among institutions and how to effectively implement China's 2030 health plan. At the same time, she also mentioned the changing role of the traditional health sector in the new era. In her speech, she said that the government's investment in health is usually regarded as a consumption or cost, and it is recommended to rethink. Regarding the country’s investment in the environment and health, we should change our minds, and we should believe that these investments can bring about very big and meaningful changes. She called for attention not only to the impact of climate and environment on physical health, but also to the impact on mental health. She also mentioned that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has also prompted human society to increase its thinking on building a better primary medical system. We should use this as an opportunity to break the traditional thinking mode and rethink the role that primary medical care should play.

Qiyong Liu, a researcher at the Institute of Infectious Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, gave an introduction with the topic of "Practices of Climate Change Health Risk Adaptation and Future Recommendations". Based on the "Climate Change and Health" project he participated in, taking China as an example, he talked about the long-term warming trend of gradual warming and the impact of precipitation changes on health, and the impact of extreme weather events and extreme climate events on health. China The situation of vulnerable populations and regional differences, the establishment of demonstration adaptation research for climate-sensitive diseases and other aspects. He proposed that the top-level design for climate change and health risk management should be strengthened. At the national level, there are not only policies, but also specific measures and guidelines. In addition, public health emergency management for climate change, especially for extreme weather events, should be strengthened. Third, the assessment and adaptation actions of climate change health risks should be strengthened. He said that both health practitioners and related policy makers have the responsibility and obligation to take action in adapting to and mitigating climate change.

It is imperative to explore education between disciplines

After the guests finished their personal speeches, they had a free discussion around the theme of the forum.

Zhimin Ye said that first of all, in her future work, she will continue to encourage more Chinese young people to participate in the field of public health; second, she said that science should not only focus on the number of published papers, but should use more In practice, otherwise it is "talking on paper."

Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun said that human health is an issue that has always been considered and everyone's responsibility. The newly established Vanke School of Public Health and Health of Tsinghua University wants to educate faculty and students to turn scientific planning into action, otherwise it will lose its focus. The COVID-19 pandemic is actually a wake-up call to human society, but it is also an opportunity. Because it makes the leadership more deeply aware of the importance of climate change, public health and medical systems. At the same time, she encourages interdisciplinary work, suggesting that everyone's personal abilities should be paid attention to and empowered, so that they can be prompted to take correct actions to solve important things.

Andy Haines proposed that a good connection should be established between personal health, human health and the natural environment, and at the same time expressed his expectations for the future work of the Vanke School of Public Health and Health of Tsinghua University. When talking about education, he believes that students should be encouraged to expand their learning in other subjects, not only to understand the professional knowledge in a certain field, but also to open up their thinking, to integrate different subjects, and to understand the relationship between different issues , And have the ability to think systematically. "I believe that Tsinghua University has an interdisciplinary environment that can cultivate more experts and talents proficient in multiple fields." Andy Haines said.

During the discussion, Peng Gong shared part of the latest "Lancet Countdown" 2020 global report. He said that no country can stay aloof when it comes to addressing climate change. He took the forest fires in the western United States and the typhoon in northeastern China mentioned in the report as examples to point out the impact of climate change on the ecosystem and human health system. He introduced that the report also mentioned that the outbreak of the COVID-19 this year has made people deeply aware that joint actions must be taken to deal with climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, joint actions also play a positive role in improving public health, promoting sustainable economic development, and protecting the environment. "Tackling climate change requires speeding up efforts, and the COVID-19 requires us to act faster." Peng Gong said.

Peng Gong believes that China is currently in a critical period of formulating the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the 2035 long-term goal. If some discoveries (for scientific researchers in related fields, editor's note) can be incorporated into the national plan , it will play a more active role in promoting institutional cooperation, strengthening the ability to respond to emergency health incidents, and enhancing resilience. He suggested that in the public health system, a full-link system needs to be built. In addition to professional health and environmental data support, the system should also have extensive support from social big data. In this way, an information perception system of the entire network and the entire link can be constructed. At the same time, a system of simulation and prediction of practice and space transmission should also be established. Whether it is for new coronary pneumonia or new infectious diseases, it should have the ability to predict its future transmission trends. Only in this way, in the event of an emergency health incident, can we make an accurate prediction and analysis of the next development, and can control the corresponding departments to mobilize resources and formulate countermeasures. At the same time, we must also do a good job in the management of big data, keep it updated and support our work (researchers in related fields, editor's note).

Subsequently, other guests discussed the sharing and protection of personal health data. Afterwards, the guests answered questions raised by online audiences.

In their concluding remarks at the forum, the guests all expressed that they have gained a lot from multi-angle and in-depth discussions on climate change, environment and human health, and hope that such interdisciplinary exchange activities will be held regularly in the future.

The IFEE is a series of international academic conferences co-sponsored by Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Engineering, and UNESCO. It is held every two years. The first forum was held at Tsinghua University from September 24-25, 2018.

Audit: Luo yong, Wu Haiping

Text: Wang Jiayin