Generally speaking, climate change needs to be tackled via mitigation activities, which seek to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and via pro-active adaptation activities, which seek to prepare populations for the consequences of climate change.  In public health and at ECDC, our activities are principally focused on adaptation. Working alongside partners such as WHO, European Environment Agency, and European Food Safety Authority, our activities centre around three inter-related questions: What are the risk and vulnerabilities within Europe, as related to communicable diseases?  What are the best adaptation measures that could be used to overcome these risks and vulnerabilities? What responses are required immediately?

 Vulnerability & Risk Assessments

• International workshop on Environmental Change and Infectious Disease
• International workshop on Linking Environmental and Epidemiologic Data
• V-Borne Project
• Ongoing project on ‘Impact of Climate Change on Food- and Water-borne (FWB) Diseases in Europe
• Development of guidelines on conducting national vulnerability assessments (ongoing)
• Consultation on Chikungunya risk assessment for Europe

Adaptation Strategies

• Chikungunya tool-kit
• New project: Development of a tool-kit to guide EU Member States on adaptation to climate change

 Response

• ECDC/WHO risk assessment of Chikungunya in Northern Italy