The Society’s Board of Trustees has declared that the climate emergency is a health emergency that requires urgent action.
The Board recognises that rapid and potentially irreversible climate change poses a direct and escalating threat to global public health. The World Health Organization has warned that the climate crisis is also a health crisis, already contributing to illness and loss of life worldwide [1].
In line with the declaration “Climate Emergency is a Health Emergency,” championed by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change [2] and supported by a growing number of medical and professional organisations, the Society affirms this position. As a member organisation, the Society is committed to reducing its environmental impact in accordance with its Sustainability Policy [3], while also raising awareness of the health risks associated with climate change through its journals, scientific conferences, and policy activities.
Physiology plays a critical role in addressing this challenge by helping to explain how climate change affects the human body, including impacts on health, wellbeing, and productivity. This understanding is essential to safeguarding the future health of populations, particularly those most vulnerable.
Accordingly, the Society has a responsibility both to reduce its own emissions and to promote the physiological research of its members to funders and decision-makers [4]. This includes strengthening global preparedness and highlighting the health co-benefits of actions that reduce emissions at both individual and societal levels.
In April 2026, the Society’s Board formally agreed that the Physiological Society should state that the climate emergency is a health emergency.
Mike Tipton, President of the Physiological Society
Dariel Burdass, Chief Executive of the Physiological Society
References
[1] https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/11-06-2025-statement-the-climate-crisis-is-a-health-crisis-and-the-european-region-is-in-the-hot-seat
[2] https://ukhealthalliance.org/about/our-commitments/
[3] https://www.physoc.org/about-us/governance/governance-reference/the-physiological-societys-sustainability-policy/
[4] https://www.physoc.org/policy/climate-change-and-health/