WG9: Longevity, Environmental Change, and Health Systems

 

 

This Working Group addresses four interrelated pillars of global public health:

(1) challenges arising from population aging, including chronic illness, long-term care demands, and healthcare financing pressures;

(2) environmental insults such as pollution, extreme heat, and climate-related disasters;

(3) their compounded interactions, as older populations are uniquely vulnerable to environmental stressors;

(4) the political economy of aging societies, examining how demographic shifts reshape voting behavior, policy preferences, and institutional capacity for climate and health action.

The WG will generate interdisciplinary insights and actionable recommendations that are politically feasible, fiscally sustainable, and intergenerationally equitable.

Impact:

• People: Improve the understanding of health and policy preferences of aging populations; promote equitable strategies to protect older individuals from environmental stressors; support vulnerable communities while recognizing political constraints.
• Environment: Inform policies aimed at reducing environmental exposures harmful to older adults; identify political barriers to climate mitigation in aging societies; promote sustainable, health-focused environmental planning aligned with demographic realities.
• Distributional Equity: Highlight the unequal geography of environmental risks and age-related vulnerability; provide frameworks for fair resource allocation in climate adaptation, healthcare, and social protection; promote intergenerational fairness in public policy design.