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Global Nurses Climate Change Committe

Welcome to the Global Nurses Climate Change Committee!

The urgency to act to reduce and protect against threats to public health presented by climate change is increasing. The Global Nurses Climate Change Committee was formed in response to the urgency and need for health professionals to increase awareness and promote action that addresses climate change as a health imperative. The nursing profession is in a unique position to lead on this issue, with the committee offering the opportunity for nurses to engage on action that promotes mitigation and adaptation responses to the climate crisis.

The Climate Change Committee views climate change impacts from a global lens and works to incorporate elements of practice, education, research, and policy/advocacy as it relates to solutions to address this health crisis.  Our current work includes developing educational resources that can be utilized by all specialties of nursing, identifying avenues for advocacy at local, state, and federal levels, and working within nursing organizations to prioritize this issue.

This committee encourages participation on an international level, as global unification is vital to advancing action to reduce health threats posed by climate change. Our committee calls are held on the third Thursday of every month at 5 -6  pm US Eastern time.

Sign up for our Committee listserve so you can stay up to date with our activities: Sign up! For more information about the ANHE Global Nurses Climate Change Committee, please contact Cara Cook (cara@envirn.org).

Resources for Nurses 

NEW! ANHE Nurses’ Guide to What the Science Teaches US about Common Solutions to Climate Change and Family Health Problems – This guide was developed in response to the release of the 2020 House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis framework “Solving the Climate Crisis, A Congressional Roadmap for Ambitious Climate Action”. Supported by over 100 references, this guide highlights why nurses are calling on all our policymakers to join us in taking strong action now to address climate change and improve our families’ and community health!

Nurses Climate Challenge – Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and ANHE have teamed up to bring you the Nurses Climate Challenge (NCC)! The NCC is a national campaign to mobilize nurses to educate 50,000 health professionals on the impacts of climate change on human health by 2022. Join the hundreds of Nurse Climate Champions from across the country as we launch a movement of health professionals committed to taking action to protect the health of their patients and communities from the worst impacts of climate change!

Nurses Drawdown – A project of ANHE and Project Drawdown, Nurses and midwives from around the world are invited to join the Nurses Drawdown movement by taking personal and professional action in five key areas: Energy, Gender Equity, Food, Mobility, and Nature. Through commitment to the evidence-based Nurses Drawdown actions, nurses will improve the health of individuals and communities, while also taking steps to heal the planet. 

Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool (CHANT) – Nurses and other health professionals around the world are invited to take the CHANT: Climate, Health and Nursing Tool each year. CHANT is a 10-minute survey asking respondents about awareness, motivation, and behaviors related to climate change and health. CHANT 2022 is now available.

Global Nurses Climate Change Committee

Meet our Climate Change Committee Co-Chairs:

Suellen Breakey

Suellen Breakey, PhD, RN, is Associate Director of the Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice, and Health and a Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at MGH Institute of Health Professions. She teaches in the Doctor of Nursing Practice and accelerated BSN programs. Her clinical background includes cardiac surgery, critical care, hospice care, and global health nursing.

For over 10 years, she was a leader with Team Heart, a nonprofit organization that provides RHD screening, cardiac surgical care and follow-up, and patient/provider education in Rwanda.

Her scholarship interests include the impact of climate change on human health and well-being, bioethics, and global health ethics. Dr. Breakey is a co-author of Global Nursing in the 21st Century, which was published in 2015. She co-chaired the National League for Nursing’s 2022 Vision Statement on Climate Change and Health. Dr. Breakey has published widely and presented locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Kent Boyd

Kent Boyd, DNP, RN, PHN is a registered nurse with experience in pediatric hematology/oncology, solid organ transplant, and adult orthopedics. He received his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of North Dakota, his Masters in Nursing from the University of Minnesota, and his Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Minnesota in the Health Innovation and Leadership specialty. Kent focused his doctoral studies on Planetary Health, community climate adaptation and resilience, and transformative systems change. His doctoral work was in collaboration with MCAP, where he developed and piloted a training program for health professionals emphasizing translating climate projections to the impacts on human health, conducting vulnerability assessments with the inclusion of climate modeling tools, and being able to lead, advocate for, and advise community resilience hubs projects across Minnesota. 

Melessa Kelley

Dr. Melessa Kelley is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the School of Nursing. Dr. Kelley is Native American (Keetoowah-Cherokee) and one of only 25 Native American doctoral prepared nurses within the United States (US). Dr. Kelley’s overall program of research focuses on conducting culturally congruent research to improve the health and well-being among Native Americans and Indigenous populations focusing on climate change and the environmental impact on overall health and well-being. Understanding and eliminating health disparities among Native Americans and Indigenous populations is the first step toward achieving health equity.