Australia: Queensland climate adaptation strategy - Human health and wellbeing climate change adaptation plan

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) engaged the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) and the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) to develop a Human Health and Wellbeing Climate Adaptation Plan (H-CAP) with the health, aged care and childcare sectors in Queensland.

The goal of the H-CAP is to support human health and wellbeing services to be innovative and resilient in managing the risks associated with a changing climate, and to harness the opportunities provided by responding to the challenges of climate change. It provides a preliminary climate change adaptation framework and guidance  for stakeholders across health care, aged care, and childcare services.

This document outlines the process to develop the H-CAP and describes its scope. It provides an overview of existing policy, and outlines policy drivers and enablers, and case studies to inspire action. It also summarises the concerns of stakeholders in Queensland about the health impacts of climate change, in addition to the barriers, opportunities and pathways forward they saw for climate adaptation.

To help guide efforts towards climate change adaptation among health and wellbeing services in Queensland, this H-CAP proposes 10 Priority Adaptation Measures, together with a vision and a set of guiding principles. The Priority Adaptation Measures offer high level guidance for services, policymakers and the community to prioritise and plan for climate adaptation. They include examples of possible responses at service, system and government levels, informed by stakeholders and existing best practice.