In the next in our ‘Better health and wellbeing in Wales’ series, Dr Julie Peconi and Jeremiah Nwaeke look at the dangers of climate change to public health across Wales.
As World Environment Day 2026 arrives, many across Wales don’t realise that climate change is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time.
Its impacts extend far beyond environmental damage, and can include danger to our physical and mental health and wellbeing. From rising temperatures to more frequent extreme weather events brought on by climate change, the effects are complex, far‑reaching and deeply unequal.
It is for these reasons that Public Health Wales (PHW), the national public health agency, has made climate change one of its six strategic priorities within the PHW Long-Term Strategy 2023–2035. This commitment reflects a clear need to accelerate our work in climate mitigation and adaptation, strengthen collaboration across sectors, and ensure that our actions support the health and wellbeing of everyone in Wales.
To do this effectively, PHW must fully understand the most pressing climate change and public health research gaps – so that efforts can be focused where they are needed most.
CLIMATE CHANGE & HEALTH INEQUALITIES
Here in Wales our geography, communities and population mean that the impacts of climate change are experienced differently across the country. People who are already disadvantaged are often the worst affected. Things such as age, income, ethnicity, housing quality, language, and existing health conditions can all influence a person’s ability to prepare for, adapt to, or recover from climate-related events.
PHW recognises that understanding these inequalities, and the factors that contribute to them, is essential if we are to protect the health of current and future generations. We have therefore made addressing health inequalities amplified by climate change a key research priority.
Embedding equity into all climate health research allows us to:
- Identify who is most at risk
- Understand why some groups experience greater harm than others
- Develop targeted approaches that protect and empower communities
- Evaluate whether current policies are reducing or widening inequalities
INCLUDING ALL VOICES
Wales’ diverse communities hold unique knowledge, perspectives and lived experiences. Ensuring these voices are represented at every stage of the research process is crucial for building effective, fair and culturally relevant climate and health solutions.
However, research priorities have not always been developed inclusively with the voices of many communities, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, often overlooked. A number of barriers have been identified including:
- Distrust stemming from experiences of tokenism, past experiences or exclusion
- Language barriers and the absence of culturally safe research spaces
- Research approaches that are rigid or not designed with communities in mind
- Little or no feedback on how contributions influence outcomes
- Insufficient co-production, meaning solutions may not reflect real needs
These challenges highlight why meaningful engagement must be prioritised if climate and health research is to represent everyone it aims to serve.
THE FUTURE OF CLIMATE CHANGE & PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH IN WALES
For research priorities in Wales to be truly reflective of what matters to policy makers, practitioners, academics and the public, coordinated work is needed to overcome these barriers. Ethnic minority groups must not simply contribute to research – they should benefit directly from it. This requires:
- Involving communities from project design to delivery
- Ensuring findings are relevant, shareable and culturally resonant
- Co‑creating solutions that strengthen impact and applicability
- Working in partnership to drive policy change
- Recognising communities as equal partners, not ‘vulnerable subjects’
To support this, PHW has established the Climate Change and Public Health Research and Evidence Network in Wales, a network that brings together researchers, voluntary organisations, community groups and public bodies to strengthen Wales’ response to the climate health challenge.
The Network aims to build a connected, cross-sector climate and health research community and create an inclusive platform for shared learning and action, while advancing and prioritising climate and public health research in Wales. Recently the Learned Society of Wales awarded the Network a Research Culture Grant to support this.
HOW THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR CAN HELP
Voluntary organisations can play a vital role in ensuring that climate health research is fair, representative and impactful. To support this work, we encourage you to:
- Move beyond viewing ethnic minority communities as solely ‘at risk’ and recognise the expertise, cultural insight and lived experience they bring.
- Support inclusive research involvement by helping connect researchers with communities and creating welcoming spaces for engagement.
- Mobilise your networks – as Earth Day 2026 reminds us: ‘Every voice matters and every action counts’.
To get involved in the Climate Change and Public Health Research and Evidence Network contact Julie Peconi, Public Health Wales: phw.research@wales.nhs.uk.
You can also reach out to Jeremaih Nwaeke, Green Voices CIC – greenvoicescic@gmail.com – to explore community-led climate and health initiatives.
As we mark World Environment Day 2026, the message is clear: Progress doesn’t happen in silence. It happens when people show up and act.