The revision is focused on updating the CDC’s existing framework for assisting public health departments in working on climate change. The original framework has been known as Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE). The update focuses on:

• Integrating equity and racial justice more deeply into the framework, including the identification of populations at greatest risk and inclusion of community voices in adaptation and mitigation planning and implementation

• Adding mitigation activities that slow the pace of climate change to the framework’s current adaptation focus

• Providing context and tools to strengthen the implementation and usability of the framework.

The team is led by the Prevention Research Center at UMass Chan Medical School; other partners include Climate Equity Policy Center, Health Resources in Action, Center for Climate Change and Health, American Public Health Association, and the University of New Hampshire. More can be learned in this journal publication about the methodology of the revision, which has included work with an expert panel, landscape analysis, key informant interviews, revisions, and drafting. 

The revised framework and the accompanying suite of technical guidance and capacity building materials and tools – expected to be available in late 2024 or 2025 – will help public health practitioners to work with community in strong and respecful partnerships and to plan and implement climate and health adaptation and mitigation interventions.