Climate change and zoonotic infectious diseases | WWF Italy

This document is aimed at summarizing knowledge from scientific publications that highlights connections between climate change and emerging diseases, based on the complex ecological relationships that link these dynamics. This will be done to enhance the perception of the risk that we ourselves have created and, above all, to contribute to the debate on how urgent it is to take all the necessary measures to stop climate change, halt the loss of natural ecosystems and protect biodiversity, and by doing so, to contain the spread of diseases.

Key Messages:

• Many human actions can contribute, directly or indirectly, to pandemics such as the one we are currently experiencing.
• Anthropogenic climate change is a fact and a relevant risk factor.
• By strongly influencing the functioning of ecosystems, climate change can promote the spread of pathogens and of new epidemics.
• Fighting climate change, while protecting pristine ecosystems and restoring those deteriorated by man, is a proactive approach aimed at protecting the health and well-being of human communities and at preventing future pandemics.