As the nation and the world race to mitigate climate change, sweeping climate policies are emerging — and fast. But these policies often ignore short-term human health and equity considerations. A new center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is addressing that gap by establishing a base of evidence to help guide policy decisions: one that both maximizes health benefits and reduces further warming of our planet.

The Health-First Climate Action Research Center, among the first climate change and health research centers in the country, launched on September 20, 2024, with a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Led by Jonathan Patz, a professor in UW–Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), the center seeks “a community-based, health-first approach to climate action and the energy transition.

“Recognizing the threat of climate change, societies are now motivated to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels,” says Patz. “Our new center will provide evidence to help guide this energy transition in order to maximize human health benefits alongside climate change mitigation goals.”

Comprising experts in air quality, human health, clean energy, and artificial intelligence, the center brings together faculty, researchers, and practitioners from UW–Madison, UW–Milwaukee, and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Their goal is to understand the health and equity impacts of various energy types, all in the context of the U.S.’s clean energy transition. Operating with a “community-based, health-first approach,” the center will engage across communities, from local groups to scientists to policymakers. Their work, the proposal said, will “start and end with communities.”