House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Explores Public Health Impacts and Solutions

On February 5, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis held a hearing on Creating a Resilient America: Overcoming the Health Risks of the Climate Crisis. The hearing’s witnesses detailed how climate change is already impacting public health, and recommended actions to improve near-term public health outcomes while addressing the root causes of climate change. Select Committee members and experts also acknowledged the unequal distribution of public health risks and emphasized the need to make environmental justice central in decision making.

Select Committee Chair Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) opened the hearing by citing a World Health Organization statistic that climate change would cause 250,000 additional deaths each year between 2030 and 2050. Specifically, Castor noted that fossil fuels and warming temperatures have contributed to increased rates of heart and lung disease, asthma, heat-related illness, changing infectious disease patterns, and extreme weather. In her testimony, Gina McCarthy, President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), described the economic cost of these health impacts. In 2012, 10 climate-related disasters resulted in $10 billion in healthcare costs, with much of the burden falling on low-income communities and communities of color. Dr. Aparna Bole’s testimony on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics identified children as another disproportionately affected demographic. Finally, President Emeritus of United Farm Workers Arturo Rodriguez testified on the impact of climate change on farm workers. Working outside in extreme heat can lead to an increased risk of sickness and even death from exposure to heat and pesticides. Since many farm workers’ visas are dependent on employment, they often work to the limits of their endurance in order to stay in the United States.

Select Committee members were interested in exploring climate change’s impact on public health from a variety of angles. Representative Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) raised the issue of long-term mental health impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters, and Representative Mike Levin (D-Calif.) explored the health effects of sea level rise. All three panelists described different negative health outcomes of sea level rise: McCarthy mentioned that flooding can contaminate drinking water, Bole described an increased risk of vector-borne illnesses that thrive in standing water, and Rodriguez said that saltwater intrusion already threatens agriculture and farming communities.

The panelists all called on Congress to take urgent action on climate change, and recommended a number of policies for the Select Committee to consider as it develops its report, which is expected in March 2020. Bole called for a transition to clean energy, a carbon fee and dividend plan, net-zero economy-wide emissions, adaptability and resilience in food systems, re-entry into the Paris Agreement, and a reinstatement of the Clean Power Plan. She also urged the healthcare sector to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and to increase both its resilience and its knowledge of climate-related health risks. In her written testimony, McCarthy called for net-zero economy-wide emissions by 2050, improvements in energy efficiency, a zero-emission vehicle market, increased funding for state and local public health initiatives, a prioritization of hospitals’ climate resilience, and the passage of the Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 (H.R.1243/S.523).

Rodriguez called on Congress to replicate a policy that was first passed in California in 2005. The state’s Heat Illness Prevention standards require employers to provide cool water and shade to workers, and to obtain training on identifying and responding to heat illness. According to Rodriguez, these standards have decreased worker deaths without harming the agricultural industry. California continues to lead the nation in cash farm receipts, and employers have responded to the regulation by finding innovative ways to protect workers’ health. Rodriguez called for the Select Committee’s members to support the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act of 2019 (H.R.3668), which creates national heat illness prevention standards modeled after California’s policy.

Some minority Select Committee members, such as Representative Carol Miller (R-W.Va.), expressed concern with the reliability of renewable energy. However, Bole reported that an increasing number of hospitals are understanding that investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy is key to developing resilience and addressing the root cause of climate change. Bole also supported home weatherization and energy efficiency as strategies that both reduce emissions and reduce energy insecurity. McCarthy observed that increasing energy efficiency creates jobs. In her testimony, she noted that twice as many Americans are employed by the energy efficiency sector than by the entire fossil fuel industry.

As the Select Committee moves closer to releasing its policy recommendations report, it is clear that members are working to balance a variety of interests and concerns. However, Select Committee Chair Castor reiterated the importance of thinking about climate change as a promising opportunity as well as a problem to solve.

Author: Abby Neal