CliCBrain: Climate, Cities and Brain health; Addressing the impact of climate and exposome on brain health

forthcoming

Climate change poses an existential crisis for the future of civilisation and is already significantly affecting the brain health of populations worldwide. These impacts include the direct effects of climate change (extreme heat or cold, flooding, pollution) and downstream exposome effects such as increased migration, food insecurity, and the exacerbation of threats to the brain from structural and systemic issues (unplanned urbanisation and systemic inequality). These factors can have immediate consequences for health and well-being while also increasing the risk of dementia later in life. However, significant gaps remain in understanding how these factors intersect and impact brain health across different contexts, the transdisciplinary methodological frameworks needed to assess them, and how to develop new approaches to protect brain health through design, practice, and policy.. CliCBrain will address these gaps through a strategic programme involving 76 staff/researcher exchanges, 6 networking and training events, and intentional collaboration across 23 global, intersectoral, and interdisciplinary partners. We focus on 3 main objectives: (i) to understand how climate change impacts brain health by developing an extended exposome framework (ii) using these insights to identify, design, and drive new approaches to protect brain health at the individual and community levels and (iii) to develop recommendations to inform and drive change at community, service and policy level. This innovative transdisciplinary initiative will yield high scientific returns, new methodologies and practices, and actionable recommendations for policymakers. CliCBrain will engage widely with public and sectoral stakeholders in co-creation and dissemination activities. This project will create the structure, network, and human capital to sustain a community of practice in climate change and brain health that can inform future policy developments.