Our Brains on a Changing Planet

What is a changing planet doing to our brains, and what can we do about it? Extreme heat. Air pollution. Wildfires and climate disasters. Changes to the places where we live, work, grow, and raise our children. We increasingly understand how these forces affect our bodies. But what about our brains? Join us during New York Climate Week for an engaging public conversation exploring one of the most important, and still overlooked, dimensions of the climate crisis: its impact on brain and mental health. Bringing together leading neuroscientists, clinicians, environmental and mental health researchers, planetary health experts, Indigenous leaders, and community resilience specialists, the conversation will explore what the science is telling us about how a changing planet can affect the brain across our lives, from pregnancy and childhood development to mental health, cognition, neurological health, and brain aging. But this is not only a conversation about risk. It is a conversation about solutions. What can cleaner air and climate action mean for our brains? How can the places where we live be designed to better protect brain health? What makes individuals and communities resilient in the face of environmental change? What can we learn from Indigenous knowledge and community experience? And how can emerging science be translated into better policy and action? Featured voices The program will bring together an international and interdisciplinary group of leaders, including: Burcin Ikiz, PhD — Neuroscientist, Founder & Chair of the Neuro Climate Working Group and Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University, working at the intersection of climate change, environmental exposures, brain health, and resilience. Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD — Professor Emerita at Columbia University and founder of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, internationally recognized for pioneering research on environmental exposures and children’s health. Gary Belkin, MD, PhD — Columbia University & NYU; Director, Billion Minds Institute. Community resilience, public mental health, and democracy. Manasi Kumar, PhD — Professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and clinical psychologist working across global mental health, climate change, health equity, and resilience. They will be joined by experts and leaders from UNICEF, George Mason University, CUNY, University College London, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, American Public Health Association, and Yiliyapinya Indigenous Corporation, among others. The conversation coincides with the launch of the Neuro Climate Science & Policy Report from the Neuro Climate Working Group and partners, bringing together emerging global evidence on climate change, environmental degradation, brain health, and opportunities for action. Together, we'll ask: How can protecting the planet also help protect our brains? Whether you work in climate, health, policy, science, cities, education, philanthropy, media, advocacy, or are simply curious about what our changing environment means for ourselves, our children, and our communities, we invite you to join the conversation. Co-hosted by Neuro Climate Working GroupNew York University School of Global Public Health, Dept of Global Environmental Health, and Billion Minds InstituteGlobal Consortium on Climate and Health Education, Columbia UniversityMedical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, George Mason University Institute for a Sustainable Earth Free and open to the public. Registration required.