A top Biden administration official said Wednesday that addressing climate change’s health impacts over the next four years might require health officials to avoid mentioning climate change.
“As we engage the new administration, I think we are going to need to adjust our terminology and our language,” Adm. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health, said during an event at the American Geophysical Union’s annual conference.
The “health consequences” of climate change, from extreme heat stress to increased rates of vector-borne diseases “are happening,” she said, and the Trump administration will have to address those health issues regardless of whether they connect them to climate change.
“I will remain hopeful that we can engage the administration about these facts, and then we can try to find a common language with which to address them,” she said. “I don’t think changing the words signifies retreat.”
