Study: Linking climate change to health doubles support for public action

Framing climate change as a health crisis is twice as effective at shifting public attitudes and building support for climate action than traditional environmental messaging, according to a new international study. The research, conducted by the Climate Opinion Research Exchange (Core) for the Wellcome Trust, found that South Africans were particularly concerned about the impact on children, food and water security and maternal health. The study surveyed more than 30 000 people across Brazil, India, Japan and South Africa between September and October 2025. It used a randomised controlled trial to test 12 climate-health messages against four traditional climate messages. It found that public concern about climate change and support for government action increased twice as often when people were informed about its health impacts, compared with general environmental messaging. “A large majority of the public, over 80%, are concerned about climate change across the four countries and around three-quarters or more know that it is harming people’s health,” it stated. “The public are keen for governments to do more on climate change and view taking action to prevent climate from harming public health as particularly urgent. Large majorities also support the vast majority of climate policies that the study asked about.” Across the four countries, certain health themes consistently shaped opinion. Messages on extreme heat, food and water insecurity and children’s health had the strongest and most consistent influence. Regional responses varied. In South Africa, concern was driven most strongly by the impact on children, as well as food and water security and maternal health. In Brazil, mental health impacts and food and water insecurity resonated most strongly, while in India, air pollution and access to healthcare drove concern. In Japan, respondents were most affected by messaging on extreme heat, air pollution, infectious diseases and risks to older people. Climate conce