Climate Change, Health and Ethics

As the first stage of an ‘inquiry’ into the economic and ethical implications of accounting for carbon in health and social care funding decisions, we co-hosted an expert seminar, funded by SCIE and in association with health think tank The King’s Fund. Leading health economist John Appleby and Professor of Philosophy Jonathan Wolff addressed a high-profile audience of academics, policy-makers and practitioners. The event was chaired by Michael Parker, Professor of Bioethics and Director of Ethox, the multidisciplinary bioethics research centre at the University of Oxford.

With additional funding from the Department of Health(DH), we began to develop a framework for decision-making which addresses the ethical challenges posed by a sustainable development approach to health and social care. This work spans health and environmental inequalities, intergenerational justice, and how to weight different social values in funding and policy decisions. Following an invitation-only seminar held at DH, Catherine and Gary Cox co-authored The ethics of sustainable health and social care: towards a framework for decision-making (Scie Report 51).

Read Catherine’s article First do no harm? The ethics of sustainable health and social Care.