Harnessing Occupational and Environmental Medicine Expertise to Transform Medical Care: A Catalyst for Mitigating the Human Health Impacts of Climate Change

The escalating global health crisis precipitated by climate change demands urgent attention in health care education and practice. This paper explores the pivotal role of occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) clinicians as a resource for climate change education and practice across the health professions. Drawing on their unique interdisciplinary expertise, OEM clinicians can help bridge the knowledge gap between climate science and clinical practice. The authors present a comprehensive framework for leveraging OEM expertise to enhance climate literacy and practice among health care professionals, ultimately fostering a more resilient and adaptive health care system in the face of mounting environmental challenges. The ethical guidance of this effort rests on the four pillars of medical care: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. However, the paper reaches beyond an anthropocentric focus to include the broader, emerging ethical principles associated with planetary health that recognize humans as an integral part rather than masters of the ecosystem.