How will the climate and nature crises affect people experiencing health inequalities?

‘The climate crisis is a health crisis, but for too long, health has been a footnote in climate discussions.’ Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization.

The conditions in which we are born, grow up, live, work, and grow old all impact our health and wellbeing.

How long people are likely to live, how much of their lives are spent in good health, the health conditions they experience, and the care that is available to them all vary across different groups within society.

We know that Disabled people, people living in areas of high deprivation, people from ethnic minority communities, and people who are socially excluded are at greater risk of experiencing poor health outcomes.

For example:

• people in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to have long-term health conditions.
• people from ethnic minority groups (particularly those identifying as Gypsy, Roma or Traveller and those from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities) are significantly more likely than white British people to report poor health and long-term illness.

We need to recognise that the inequalities faced by these groups are being further compounded by the effects of environmental change. The effects of air pollution and changes to the natural environment are deepening these profound health inequalities, both domestically and on a global scale.

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