U.S. funding is insufficient to address the human health impacts of and public health responses to climate variability and change.

Recent assessments have concluded that climate change presents real risks to human health and that the U.S. population will not be exempt from health impacts of recent and projected climate change (Confalonieri et al. 2007; Ebi et al. 2008). Given the observed and projected changes in climate and weather patterns and the significant degree of regulatory discussion under way in the U.S. government, it is reasonable to determine the extent of direct federal investment in research to understand and anticipate the human health impacts of climate change in the United States and worldwide. The need for this research has become more urgent given the significant degree of climate change to which the world is already committed. In addition, there is a need to assess the potential benefit and harm to human health from proposed policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We were the authors of the chapter on human health for Synthesis and Assessment Product (SAP) 4.6, in Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems (Ebi et al. 2008). We discovered during the process of researching and writing SAP 4.6 that federal investment in research on the health impacts of climate change has been extremely limited, leaving the United States insufficiently able to avoid, prepare for, and respond adequately to the risks. We first review the key research needs related to climate change and health, using peer-reviewed publications to show that these research needs are not being met to a significant degree, then discuss steps that should be taken by the federal government to meet the research needs.