Former author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Professor Sir Andy Haines, has been awarded the 2022 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. Sir Andy Haines was one of the first scientists to sound the alarm about the link between health and climate change
According to the statement from the Tyler Prize Committee, Sir Haines is being awarded “… for his contributions in the understanding of the effects of climate change on public health, his leadership in expanding the scope of public health to one of Planetary Health, and for his mentorship of the next generation of health scientists and practitioners in preventive environmental health actions in the 21st century.”
Andy Haines was one of the authors of the Working Group II contribution to the Second and Third Assessment Reports. He was also a Review Editor on the health chapter of the Working Group II contribution of the Fifth Assessment Report.
Haines, an epidemiologist, and Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said it is a “great honor and privilege” to be selected as the recipient of the 2022 Tyler Prize.
“I think it reflects the growing awareness that climate change isn’t just about damaging the environment. From the effects of extreme heat and wildfires to effects on infectious disease transmission, food supply, migration, poverty… climate change can affect health in so many ways,” said Haines.
A world-renowned scientist, Haines is also among the first to research the health benefits of low-carbon actions – including cycling, walking and using public transport instead of driving, as well as using clean, renewable energy and eating a more plant-based diet.
Haines will receive a US$200,000 prize and will be honored at an award ceremony in April 2022