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Climate change and respiratory disease: European Respiratory Society position statement

¹ For affiliations, please see the Acknowledgements section, and ² For members of the Environment and Health Committee of the European Respiratory Society, please see the Acknowledgements section.

CORRESPONDENCE: J. G. Ayres, Institute of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. E-mail: j.g.ayres{at}bham.ac.uk

Keywords: Advocacy, climate change, respiratory disease

Received: January 8, 2009
Accepted February 19, 2009

Climate change will affect individuals with pre-existing respiratory disease, but the extent of the effect remains unclear.

The present position statement was developed on behalf of the European Respiratory Society in order to identify areas of concern arising from climate change for individuals with respiratory disease, healthcare workers in the respiratory sector and policy makers. The statement was developed following a 2-day workshop held in Leuven (Belgium) in March 2008.

Key areas of concern for the respiratory community arising from climate change are discussed and recommendations made to address gaps in knowledge. The most important recommendation was the development of more accurate predictive models for predicting the impact of climate change on respiratory health.

Respiratory healthcare workers also have an advocatory role in persuading governments and the European Union to maintain awareness and appropriate actions with respect to climate change, and these areas are also discussed in the position statement.