Diabetes and Climate Change

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has produced a pioneering policy report that establishes the interconnections between two urgent challenges in the 21st Century. The report explores the critical connections between diabetes and climate change and identifies the opportunity to combat these challenges together through the health co-benefit approach. Launched against the backdrop of the UN’s Rio+20 conference, the report aims to increase understanding of the broad interface between health and the environment and to put diabetes and non-communicable diseases at the heart of sustainable development. It explores the shared global vectors of rapid urbanisation, changing population trends, and the globalised food system. Greater policy alignment in the global response could provide ‘win-win’ opportunities to mitigate climate change and risk of type 2 diabetes simultaneously. For details see IDF