Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action

Mission

Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action educates and mobilizes clinician leaders to bring the health voice to climate policymaking in Virginia.

Vision

Virginia will become a national model for equitable climate change solutions that protect the health of all Virginians.

Theory of Change

Clinicians have the knowledge and mission to play a vital role in protecting the health of Virginia’s families and communities from the effects of climate change. This clinical voice can overcome entrenched partisan and economic barriers, by focusing on the health benefits of climate solutions and the health dangers of inaction.

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Our Values

Climate Change and Health - Climate change is real and a threat to the health of all Virginians. VCCA focuses on protecting the health of our patients and communities through education, community outreach, and advocacy around climate policy solutions.

Clinician Voice - Health professionals from a demographically, geographically, and clinically diverse range of all medical disciplines, as trusted messengers in society, have a stake and a voice in the subject of climate change and health. 

Nonpartisan - VCCA is not a partisan body. We focus on climate and health. We support laws and initiatives that promote the health of our patients and communities through climate friendly policies.

Justice - Climate policies should consider factors related to social justice sensitive to the needs of underserved communities who too often bear a disproportionate burden of negative health impacts due to climate change.

Health Focus – Though a healthy environment is fundamental to health, VCCA’s expertise and focus lies in the policies and programs that explicitly address the human health impact of environmental policies.

Evidence – As members of the scientific community, VCCA contributes to climate change research and critically evaluates climate literature to promote evidence-based recommendations on health policies. 

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Our Work

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Advocacy

Climate policy is health policy. VCCA clinicians provide credible, health-based perspectives on climate policy solutions to ensure that policies are made with the health of our citizens and communities as a top priority. During our annual Health and Climate Lobby Day, dozens of clinicians and health students from across the state gather in Richmond to advocate on behalf of their patients for clean energy solutions. We also provide opportunities throughout the year for our members to engage in advocacy around climate policy solutions. 

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Education/Research

VCCA brings educational events on climate and health to medical centers across Virginia. In collaboration with partners, we coordinate conferences that convene experts from Virginia’s academic centers and beyond. Through these events we educate practicing clinicians on what changes in the climate mean for the health of their patients and their practice.

Our clinician leaders provide lectures at hospitals and clinics across the state. We have delivered presentations at Inova Fairfax and Alexandria Hospitals, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Carilion Clinic and others. 

VCCA is proud to participate in the newly formed Virginia Department of Health Climate Change Committee, launched in 2019. We applaud Virginia Department of Health for this initiative and look forward to supporting this critical work in the future.

Community Outreach

VCCA collaborates with community leaders to educate and empower the public around local and state climate-related policies that impact our health and welfare. We testify at public hearings, participate in review groups on energy and environmental policy and publish letters and opinion pieces that support climate policy solutions. We also deliver presentations to community organizations, helping the public understand what a changing climate means for the health of families and communities.