RIVM Newsletter

Hans Brug, RIVM Director-General: “RIVM works towards a healthy living environment in a changing climate. This priority cannot be postponed to tomorrow, but must be addressed today: climate change is already affecting our health. It is urgently necessary to generate knowledge and share it now.” 

Climate change is internationally recognised as the most important health threat of this century. Lisbeth Hall outlines RIVM’s international work with peer institutes and organisations to generate and share knowledge and solutions that address this huge challenge.

Jesse Limaheluw is a researcher and PhD student at the Centre for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology at RIVM. “All pathogens – viruses and bacteria – are affected to some extent by climate-based factors such as temperature, UV radiation, air humidity and wind".

“Climate change is not some distant future problem; it is here and now. We are already seeing the impact of climate change on health: from heat, from allergies. We do not yet know enough to see exactly how significant that effect is. But we can see where the trend is headed,” says Joost van der Ree, Programme Manager for Climate at RIVM.

Zwolle is a low-lying city surrounded by water. This situation makes Zwolle particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The city has developed an adaptation strategy to deal with this. Lisa de Groot, programme manager for Climate Adaptation in Zwolle: "We want to make all the streets in Zwolle greener".

New wind turbines will be placed in all sorts of locations in the Netherlands. The national government sees this form of clean energy as an important climate mitigation measure. Wind turbines can also have a downside. RIVM noise researcher Elise van Kempen outlines the current research on this topic. Oscar Breugelmans, policy advisor for the Public Health Service of Amsterdam, addresses the societal debate.

Professor Guus Velders describes how RIVM's Climate change and Health website provides information on climate adaptation solutions, based on scientific evidence and supported by references. "We wanted the information to be easy to find and use, so everyone can see for themselves what suits a particular situation".

Healthcare represents 7% of greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands. The Green Deal on Sustainable Healthcare aims to significantly reduce this percentage. What does that mean in actual practice? GP Iris Wichers: "If you switch nine patients to a powder-based inhaler, it saves even more than trading your petrol-fuelled car for an electric model.”