How do we ensure that growing evidence on the health impacts of climate change leads to meaningful policy action, especially for those most at risk?
We’re partnering with the Wellcome Trust to facilitate a session at the 20th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA20), which aims to advance locally led and community-driven responses to climate change.
Hosted by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the conference creates a space to share lessons, innovations and practical strategies for adaptation rooted in lived experience.
Read more about our climate work
We’re excited to be contributing to this global conversation, facilitating exciting discussions on climate and health and elevating learning on policy action from this community of practice.
Itad at CBA20
Itad’s Clare Stott and Jennie Thomas will be facilitating the wrap-up session for the climate and health theme, exploring how to drive urgent policy action to address the health impacts of climate change.
By combining real‑world experience with collective reflection, we aim to:
- Surface practical, policy‑relevant ideas participants can take back to their own work
- Strengthen connections across research, policy, funding and evaluation communities
- Build shared understanding of what it takes to accelerate action on climate‑related health impacts
Participants will leave with new insights, concrete strategies, and renewed momentum to advance policy action on one of the most urgent—and under‑addressed—dimensions of the climate crisis.
Session details
Session title: From evidence to action: Driving urgent climate and health policy change
Date and time: 12 May, 3.30pm PST
This engaging, participatory session brings together funders, researchers, evaluators and practitioners to explore how evidence can be translated into effective, inclusive and urgent policy responses.
Building on earlier conference discussions, the session is grounded in learning from the Wellcome Trust’s Climate Impact Awards, which support transdisciplinary approaches not only to evidencing climate‑related health impacts, but also to taking action on them.
We’ll explore how to move from evidence to policy impact in complex and crowded policy environments, with a particular focus on:
- Translating research on climate and health into actionable policy responses
- Engaging policymakers across sectors and at different levels
- Ensuring policy solutions reflect the realities of those most vulnerable to climate‑related health impacts
Real‑world examples will spotlight projects addressing:
- The health impacts of climate change on precarious outdoor workers in urban megacities in Vietnam
- Health impacts in vulnerable settlements across megacities in the Global South
Session format
This interactive session combines facilitated discussion with collective problem‑solving:
Panel discussion: a chat-show-style conversation moderated by Itad, featuring Wellcome and Climate Impacts Awards grantees. Panellists will share project insights, emerging lessons, and experiences of engaging policymakers across contexts, alongside evaluation insights from across the Awards portfolio.
Panellists: Georgia Glasman James (Wellcome Trust), Nidhi Sohane (IIDS) and Anh Vu (NATCEN)
Participant Q&A: opportunities for attendees to pose questions and reflect on chat show insights.
Action exchange: a facilitated, small‑group discussion enabling participants to explore practical questions around policy entry points, cross‑sector action, scaling what works, and power and inclusion.
Plenary reflections: a short wrap-up to share key takeaways and practical ideas that can inform future policy action.
Read more about our evaluation of the Climate Impact Awards
