Health professionals can customize this letter to the editor template to educate their community about the health impacts of climate change in advance of the Global Climate Action Summit, Sept. Be sure to follow your local newspaper’s guidelines, including word count and submit as early as possible.

Dear Editor,

Leaders from across the country are gathering in San Francisco next/this week for the Global Climate Action Summit. As a physician/nurse who is alarmed by the growing threat climate change poses to the health and wellbeing of my patients, I urge these leaders, including Gov. <<name of governor>> to commit to more ambitious action to solve climate change.

The health impacts of climate change are already being felt by millions of Americans. In our own community, a growing number of my patients are suffering from <<describe specific impacts*>>.

But there is still time to act to avoid the worst health impacts of climate change. Gov. <<name of governor>> must join with other world leaders in making a stronger commitment to climate action by pledging to transition <<name of state>> away from dirty fossil fuels and to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2030. Any further delay will cost lives.

<<name, title, city, state>>

*Suggested health impacts to consider including depending on your region:

• In the West, communities are suffering from increasing rates of heat-related illnesses; injuries, deaths, and toxic smoke from wildfires; and droughts that threaten food and nutrition.
• In the East and Midwest, changes in temperature have meant a longer tick season, leading to a dramatic increase in cases of Lyme Disease.
• In the South, stronger tropical storms have claimed lives and destroyed homes leading to high rates of depression and anxiety among those impacted.