The central purpose of this report is to increase understanding of the interactions between people, the environment, and the climate in Waitaha Canterbury – to provide planners and decision-makers and the wider community with information that can shape the development of effective responses to climate change.

The scope and extent of climate-related health and wellbeing impacts can be strongly influenced by location and it is important that regional-level adaptation strategies are matched to the specific geographic and demographic characteristics of the Waitaha Canterbury region. This report presents the interim findings of a scoping and profiling assessment that outlines the connections between climate change and health, relevant to the people of Waitaha Canterbury. This report does not specifically cover adaptation or mitigation/transition risks; however, this report does provide some commentary on adaptation and mitigation strategies that could help reduce the health and wellbeing impacts of climate1 . This report describes a range of climate change related determinants of health – incorporating broad perspectives of health and wellbeing.

This report encompasses the first steps of assessing the health and wellbeing impacts of climate change across Waitaha Canterbury and the potential effects on the health and wellbeing of the population and the distribution of those effects within the population