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Climate Change and Health: Adapting to Mental, Physical and Societal Challenges (CHAMPS)

  • Duration: 2020 - 2024
  • Status: Completed

The research consortium CHAMPS studies the potential impacts of climate change on health.

Basic project information

Project management
Timothy R. Carter (Syke)
Project team
Stefan Fronzek, Ismo Lahtinen, Anna Lipsanen, Nina Pirttioja, Emma Terämä
Financiers
Research Council of Finland
Partners
Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare, Finnish Meteorological Institute, University of Eastern Finland, University of Helsinki
Subject area
Climate
CHAMPS logo
CHAMPS logo

CHAMPS project

The research consortium CHAMPS studies the potential impacts of climate change on health, with a focus on three interrelated topics:

  • The first relates to mental health impacts associated with seasonal fluctuationsin the intensity of daylight and modifying weather effects such as cloudiness andsnow cover.
  • The second concerns health impacts of thermal stress, both heat and cold,and the influence of social vulnerability and exposure of the population on the severity of impacts.
  • The third considers the implications of these varied health impacts for occupational health and work productivity.

CHAMPS is co-ordinated by the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) and is funded through the Academy of Finland's Climate Change and Health (CLIHE) programme.

CHAMPS work packages (WPs), indicative content (in parentheses) and partner co-ordination responsibilities. All five partners contribute to all WPs.

Syke CHAMPS publications list

Peer reviewed publications that acknowledge CHAMPS

  • Carter, T.R (2026). The importance of recognizing opportunities in climate change impacts. Nature Climate Change 16, 525–534, doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02626-9

  • Fronzek S, Honda Y, Ito A, Nunes JP, Pirttioja N, Räisänen J, Takahashi K, Terämä E, Yoshikawa M, CarterTR, 2022. Estimating impact likelihoods from probabilistic projections of climate and socio-economic change using impact response surfaces. Climate Risk Management, 38, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2022.100466

  • Lipsanen, A., Ruuhela, R., Saikkonen, P., Fronzek, S., Kankaanpää, S., Kollanus, V., Meriläinen, P., Mäkinen, K., Parry, M., Terämä, E., Carter, T.R. 2025. Socioeconomic narratives for future healthcare and social welfare in Finland to inform climate change adaptation. Regional Environmental Change 25:102 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-025-02435-4 

  • Meinander, O., Hildén, M., Lappalainen, H.K., Mosoni, C., Ruuhela, R., Kuntsi-Reunanen, E., Carter, T.R., Fronzek, S., Pirttioja, N., Arslan, A.N.,  Kupiainen, K, Isaksen, K., Lihavainen, H., and Aalto, J. (2022). Permafrost thaw and adapting to its multiple effects in the Arctic. In: Heininen, L., H. Exner-Pirot and J. Barnes (eds.). Arctic Yearbook 2022: The Russian Arctic: Economics, Politics and Peoples. Akureyri, Iceland: Arctic Portal, ISSN 2298-2418, p. 215-231, https://arcticyearbook.com/.

  • O’Neill, B.C., Carter, T.R., Ebi, K., Harrison, P.A., Kemp-Benedict, E., Kok, K., Kriegler, E., Preston, B.L., Riahi, K., Sillmann, J., van Ruijven, B.J., van Vuuren, D., Carlisle, D., Conde, C., Fuglestvedt, J.,  Green, C., Hasegawa, T., Leininger, J., Monteith, S., Pichs-Madruga, R. 2020. Achievements and needs for the climate change scenario framework. Nature Climate Change, 10: 1074-1084, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00952-0 

  • Pedde, S., Fronzek, S., Pirttioja, N., van Minnen, J., Carere, M., Marcheggiani, S., Berckmans, J. and Photiadou, C. (2024). Guidelines to quantify climate change exposure and vulnerability indicators for the future: an example for heat stress risk across scales, European Topic Centre on Climate change adaptation and LULUCF (ETC-CA) Report 1/24, 36 pp., https://doi.org/10.25424/cmcc-n52a-ad48

Non-refereed publications that acknowledge CHAMPS

  • Burenby, L., Partonen, T., Carter, T.R., Ruuhela, R., Halonen, J. 2021. Climate change and mental health. Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Discussion paper 32/2021, 20 pp. Helsinki, Finland, https://www.julkari.fi/handle/10024/143459 

  • Carter, T.R. 2021 (Ed.) Scenarios for Climate Change and Health Analysis in Finland: Report of the CLIHE Virtual Workshop on Scenario Co-ordination, 16 December 2020, Climate Change and Health Academy Programme (CLIHE), 13 pp. https://www.syke.fi/sites/default/files/documents/scenarios_workshop_report_final_0_0.pdf 

  • Carter TR, Lipsanen A, Ruuhela R, 2020. Socioeconomic scenarios for health and social welfare in a changing climate: Progress since the PLUMES Scenarios Workshop, May 2019. CHAMPS Information Sheet No. 1, CHAMPS (Climate change and Health: Adapting to Mental, Physical and Societal challenges), 4pp. https://www.syke.fi/sites/default/files/documents/info_sheet_health_ssps_final_0_0.pdf 

  • Lipsanen, A., Carter, T.R., Ruuhela, R., Fronzek, S., Kollanus, V., Koskela, I.-M., Mäkelä, M., Mäkinen, K., Meriläinen, P., Parry, M., Saikkonen, P., Suomela, T. and Terämä, E. 2020. Socioeconomic narratives for future Finnish health and social welfare to inform climate change adaptation. Strategic Research Scientific Conference 2020: Preparing for the future: analyzing and identifying responses to societal challenges using scenarios and other tools for future scanning, October 7-8 2020, Helsinki, Finland, [Extended abstract]

  • Lipsanen, A. Carter, T.R., Ruuhela, R., Meriläinen, P., Mäkinen, K., Parry, M., Saikkonen, P., and Terämä, E. 2022. Downscaling global SSP narratives for the Finnish health and social welfare sector to inform climate change adaptation. Presented at: Scenarios Forum 2022, IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria, 20-22 June 2022, [Video recording and Abstract]

  • Ruuhela R, Carter TR, Rantanen M, Polade S, Lipsanen S, Jylhä K, Laurila TK, Luomaranta A, Fagerström S, Luhtala S, Gregow H, 2023. Ilmasto- ja sosioekonomiset skenaariot ilmastonmuutokseen sopeutumisen suunnittelussa (Climate and socioeconomic scenarios for climate change adaptation planning), Publications of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 2023:4, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 43 pp. (in Finnish with English summary). https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/164670 

Other relevant publications

  • Carter, T.R. 2022. Assessing impacts and adaptation. In: Rosenzweig, C. Parry, M.L. and De Mel, M. (Eds). Our Warming Planet: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, Lectures in Climate Change: Vol 2. World Scientific, Singapore, pp. 31-68, https://doi.org/10.1142/12312

  • Carter, T.R. and Fronzek, S. 2022. A model-based response surface approach for evaluating climate change risks and adaptation urgency, in: Kondrup, C., et al. (Eds.), Climate Adaptation Modelling. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 67-75, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-86211-4_9.

  • Pedde, S., Doblas-Reyes, F.J., Carter, T.R., Haarsma, R., Jury, M., Burgess, S., Emerton, R., Fronzek, S., Muccione, V. 2024. Chapter 2: Europe in times of change and extremes. In: European Climate Risk Assessment. EEA Report 01/2024, European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen, pp. 58-82, doi:10.2800/204249, https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/european-climate-risk-assessment  

  • Ringsmuth, A.K., Otto, I.M. van den Hurk, B., Lahn, G., Reyer, C.P.O., Carter, T.R., Magnuszewski, P.  Monasterolo, M.,  Aerts, J.C.J.H., Benzie, M., Campiglio, E., Fronzek, S., Gaupp, F., Jarzabek, L., Klein, R.J.T., Knaepen, H., Mechler, R., Mysiak, J., Sillmann, J., Stuparu, D. and West, C. 2022. Lessons from COVID-19 for managing transboundary climate risks and building resilience. Climate Risk Management, 35, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2022.100395.

  • van den Hurk, B., Otto, I.M., Reyer, C.P.O., Aerts, J., Benzie, M., Campiglio, E., Carter, T.R., Fronzek, S., Gaupp, F., Jarzabek, L., Klein, R.J.T., Knaepen, H., Lahn, G., Mechler, R., Monasterolo, I., Mysiak, J., Shepherd, T.G., Sillmann, J., Stuparu, D. and West, C. 2020. What can COVID-19 teach us about preparing for climate risks in Europe? Policy Brief, RECEIPT and CASCADES projects, [download from researchgate]

Contact information

Professor Timothy Carter, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), firstname.surname@syke.fi

Published 5.2.2021 / Updated 1.7.2026