About the Lancet Countdown Oceania

Our Work

Lancet Countdown Oceania mirrors the approach of the global Lancet Countdown, and monitors health dimensions of climate change in Australia and New Zealand across five key 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;
5. public and political engagement in health and climate change.

Indicators are refined on an annual basis as new data and better methods become available. Find out more about our science here. It has produced five annual reports from 2018 to 2022 in The Medical Journal of Australia (MJA). It has also produced five Policy Briefs for Australia, using the annual reports as a scientific foundation, and working closely with leading health and medical organisations who endorse the briefs. Its reports and policy briefs are published in unison with the global Lancet Countdown reports and have been launched at events in Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne.

As the collaboration grows, we welcome input and suggestions from researchers and policy makers across Australia and New Zealand who are willing to contribute to this initiative.

Our History

Lancet Countdown Oceania was established as a research collaboration in 2017 to monitor health and climate change in Australia, and in 2022 broadened its scope to the Oceania region by including a profile on health and climate change in New Zealand in its annual report.

Building on the work of the global Lancet Countdown, it leverages on the wealth of data and cross disciplinary expertise in Australia and New Zealand, to develop high-resolution Oceania-specific indicators that explore in further depth aspects of particular relevance to the region, e.g. climate change and Indigenous Health.