University of CaliforniaSan Francisco

UC San Francisco recognizes the urgency of addressing the human health impacts of the climate crisis. This past fiscal year, the institution has made significant strides in integrating the climate-health connection into its graduate health care education, research and patient care mission. 

A Climate Crisis Is a Health Crisis, a main feature of the December 2019 issue of UCSF Magazine, focused on six faculty members’ pioneering work of linking the physical and psychological costs of climate-related disasters and how they incorporate climate change into the curriculum and guide the health sector to address the issue. 

UCSF’s newly formed Climate and Health Center is convening a transdisciplinary community of practice to drive cutting-edge climate health research and education, promote health system sustainability and bring health evidence to climate policy in order to improve the health, well-being and equity of all communities. A newly created EaRTH Center, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is working to integrate environmental health into the medical school curriculum. And the Human Health and Climate Change student group developed a Planetary Health Justice Report Card that grades U.S. and Canadian medical schools on how well they address the intersection of health and the environment. 

In addition to these academic efforts, climate mitigation of campus and health system operations is ongoing. Sustainability work groups continue to focus on energy efficiency, green buildings and smart sustainable campus planning. Green Lab campaigns promoted Energy Star-certified freezers, and the 10th Annual Anniversary Sustainability Awards recognized green champions and work groups. New climate actions this year included the purchase of carbon-free electricity from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, installation of the 10th solar project and the construction of UCSF’s first all-electric housing buildings.