The 2026 Oceania Report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Children Already Impacted, With a Lifetime of Exposure to Come.
30 affiliations
- 1School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 2National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
- 3Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
- 4Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Melbourne Climate Futures, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 5School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 6Heat and Health Research Centre, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 7School of Public Health, College of Health, Adelaide University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
- 8Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 9The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth Children's Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
- 10School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 11WHO Collaborating Centre for Climate Change and Health Impact Assessment, Curtin School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
- 12The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 13Melbourne School of Design, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 14Heat and Health Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 15Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
- 16Department of Paediatrics: Child and Youth Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
- 17UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 18School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 19Integrated Sustainability Analysis, School of Physics, Faculty of Science, Discipline of Accounting, Sydney Business School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 20Melbourne Law School, Melbourne Climate Futures, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 21University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 22School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 23School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 24Department of Infrastructure Engineering, School of Electrical, Mechanical and Infrastructure Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 25Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 26Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
- 27Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 28Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
- 29School of Population Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
- 30Lancet Countdown, Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK.
Abstract
The Medical Journal of Australia (MJA)-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Oceania was established in 2017 and produced its first regional assessment in 2018 and annual updates from 2019 to 2025. It examines five broad domains: (1) health hazards, exposures and impacts; (2) adaptation, planning and resilience for health; (3) mitigation actions and health co-benefits; (4) economics and finance; and (5) public and political engagement. In this, the eighth report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown, we track an extensive suite of indicators across these five domains, accessing and presenting the latest data and further refining and developing our analyses. Our analyses show that exposure of infants and older adults to heatwaves in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand has increased substantially over the past decade due to climate change, and half of the 16,230 young Australians aged 14-19 years surveyed reported that they are worried or sad about the impacts of climate change, including its threat to people, and about 1 in 7 reported that such feelings are negatively affecting their daily life. Increasing heat-related mortality alone is placing a large economic burden on Australians, with associated inflation-adjusted costs over the period 2021-2025 being more than double what they were at the start of the century, now averaging an estimated US$1.49 billion per year nationally. In other areas, some progress is being made. New Zealand's Health National Adaptation Plan 2024-2027, published in October 2024, lays the foundation for building climate resilience within its health system, while acknowledging the environmental and social determinants of health that apply more broadly. The provision of climate services to the health sector in both Australia and New Zealand is categorised as advanced. In Australia, healthcare-related greenhouse gas emissions generally declined from 2016 to 2023. In conclusion, the threat to physical and mental health from climate change continues to grow. Despite pockets of progress, Australia and New Zealand have a long way to go to adequately mitigate and adapt to climate change, and in so doing not only avoid health impacts but seize the opportunity for generational health gains. Important opportunities have been lost, such as the failed attempts to amend Australia's Climate Change Act 2022 to 'require decision-makers to consider the health and well-being of children in Australia when making significant decisions'. In 2026, Australia is in the spotlight as President of Negotiations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31)-an unprecedented opportunity for the Australian Government to push through the sizable step change in global climate action that is now critically required.
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BibTeX
@article{beggs20262026,
title = {{The 2026 Oceania Report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Children Already Impacted, With a Lifetime of Exposure to Come.}},
author = {Paul J Beggs and Tanya Singh and Hilary Bambrick and Nicolas Borchers Arriagada and Kathryn Bowen and Anthony G Capon and Philomena Colagiuri and Tara Crandon and Troy J Cross and Lynette Dimer and Donna Green and Ivan C Hanigan and Maddie Heenan and Thanh Ho and Ollie Jay and Harry R Kennard and Fiona Langridge and Martina K Linnenluecke and Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins and Raymond Lovett and Calla MacGregor and Arunima Malik and Rebekkah Markey-Towler and Veronica Matthews and Christopher D McKay and Celia McMichael and Kerry Nice and Jacqueline Peel and Sachith Seneviratne and Katherine Sievert and James Smallcombe and Mark Stevenson and Stefan Trueck and Sotiris Vardoulakis and Aditya Vyas and Bronwyn Wilkes and Jake T W Williams and Alistair J Woodward and Ying Zhang and Muhammad M Hasan and Marina B Romanello},
journal = {The Medical journal of Australia},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5694/mja2.70315},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949401},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The 2026 Oceania Report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Children Already Impacted, With a Lifetime of Exposure to Come.
AU - Paul J Beggs
AU - Tanya Singh
AU - Hilary Bambrick
AU - Nicolas Borchers Arriagada
AU - Kathryn Bowen
AU - Anthony G Capon
AU - Philomena Colagiuri
AU - Tara Crandon
AU - Troy J Cross
AU - Lynette Dimer
AU - Donna Green
AU - Ivan C Hanigan
AU - Maddie Heenan
AU - Thanh Ho
AU - Ollie Jay
AU - Harry R Kennard
AU - Fiona Langridge
AU - Martina K Linnenluecke
AU - Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins
AU - Raymond Lovett
AU - Calla MacGregor
AU - Arunima Malik
AU - Rebekkah Markey-Towler
AU - Veronica Matthews
AU - Christopher D McKay
AU - Celia McMichael
AU - Kerry Nice
AU - Jacqueline Peel
AU - Sachith Seneviratne
AU - Katherine Sievert
AU - James Smallcombe
AU - Mark Stevenson
AU - Stefan Trueck
AU - Sotiris Vardoulakis
AU - Aditya Vyas
AU - Bronwyn Wilkes
AU - Jake T W Williams
AU - Alistair J Woodward
AU - Ying Zhang
AU - Muhammad M Hasan
AU - Marina B Romanello
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - The Medical journal of Australia
DO - 10.5694/mja2.70315
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949401
AB - The Medical Journal of Australia (MJA)-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Oceania was established in 2017 and produced its first regional assessment in 2018 and annual updates from 2019 to 2025. It examines five broad domains: (1) health hazards, exposures and impacts; (2) adaptation, planning and resilience for health; (3) mitigation actions and health co-benefits; (4) economics and finance; and (5) public and political engagement. In this, the eighth report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown, we track an extensive suite of indicators across these five domains, accessing and presenting the latest data and further refining and developing our analyses. Our analyses show that exposure of infants and older adults to heatwaves in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand has increased substantially over the past decade due to climate change, and half of the 16,230 young Australians aged 14-19 years surveyed reported that they are worried or sad about the impacts of climate change, including its threat to people, and about 1 in 7 reported that such feelings are negatively affecting their daily life. Increasing heat-related mortality alone is placing a large economic burden on Australians, with associated inflation-adjusted costs over the period 2021-2025 being more than double what they were at the start of the century, now averaging an estimated US$1.49 billion per year nationally. In other areas, some progress is being made. New Zealand's Health National Adaptation Plan 2024-2027, published in October 2024, lays the foundation for building climate resilience within its health system, while acknowledging the environmental and social determinants of health that apply more broadly. The provision of climate services to the health sector in both Australia and New Zealand is categorised as advanced. In Australia, healthcare-related greenhouse gas emissions generally declined from 2016 to 2023. In conclusion, the threat to physical and mental health from climate change continues to grow. Despite pockets of progress, Australia and New Zealand have a long way to go to adequately mitigate and adapt to climate change, and in so doing not only avoid health impacts but seize the opportunity for generational health gains. Important opportunities have been lost, such as the failed attempts to amend Australia's Climate Change Act 2022 to 'require decision-makers to consider the health and well-being of children in Australia when making significant decisions'. In 2026, Australia is in the spotlight as President of Negotiations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31)-an unprecedented opportunity for the Australian Government to push through the sizable step change in global climate action that is now critically required.
SN - 0025-729X
SN - 1326-5377
ER -