Two members of the University of Bath’s Centre for 21st Century Public Health (C21PH) will attend major international events in New York City, USA, next week.
Amy Thompson, C21PH Director of Operations, and Dan Hunt, PhD Student and member of the Local Health and Global Profits consortium (LHGP), will participate in the fourth UN High-Level Meeting on the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (UN HLM4) and in Climate Week NYC.
The UN HLM4 is held on 25 September. This meeting provides an opportunity for Heads of States and Governments to set a new vision for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing. The University of Bath is the only University specially accredited to be present at this event.
Climate Week NYC, held from 20-27 September, is a world-leading global climate event and the biggest of its kind. It convenes an influential mix of established and emerging leaders from the world of business, tech, politics, academia, and civil society. The event takes place every year in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York.
Amy Thompson will speak as part of a panel at the 9th NYC Green School Conference 2025, a prestigious conference that is an official event of Climate Week NYC. Amy will join experts from Penn State University, the State University of New York and Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs on a panel titled 'Greening Leadership in Universities: From Campus Commitment to Global Impact'.
At the conference, Amy will highlight how sustainability is woven into governance, curriculum, research, operations, and culture at the University of Bath. She will outline Bath’s Climate Action Framework, which commits us to Net Zero by 2040 through renewable energy, sustainable construction, low-carbon research, and active student engagement. Amy will also present the global ActNowFilm project, advocating for youth climate skills, training, and the meaningful inclusion of young leaders in national and international climate negotiations.
The core message: universities must act as anchor institutions—delivering research and teaching, shaping policy, forging partnerships, and empowering the next generation of skilled climate leaders.
In addition, Amy will attend the UN HLM4 as an observer and representative of the C21PH.
In addition to attending the UN HLM4, Dan Hunt will also represent the University at several side events at Climate Week NYC, as an NCD policy expert, a representative of LHGP, and in relation to his PhD research into the risks of the commercial determinants of climate change to public interest governance for health and health equity.
Dan comments:
A UN High-level meeting on NCDs and Mental Health is an extraordinary moment in global health diplomacy. Gathering Heads of State and Government together, we have an opportunity unlike any other for countries to repair the broken and unsustainable economic systems, corporate practices, and industrial products that are accelerating some of the world’s biggest killers.
Unlike usual NCD meetings at WHO, these discussions happen across the UN. This matters because commercial determinants are not only core to the right to health, but to the right to a healthy environment, and to sustainable and equitable development at large.
NCDs are the world’s biggest killers. We know what policies need to be urgently adopted. A political failure to act will not make those challenges go away – it only makes them worse.
Amy Thompson comments:
I am delighted to have the opportunity to represent the University of Bath at both of these prestigious events. The prevention of noncommunicable diseases, advancing mental health and wellbeing, and the critical need for the acceleration of global climate action are central to the work we do at the University of Bath and are significant research priorities for the Centre for 21st Century Public Health.
Climate Week NYC and the UN HLM4 come at a critical crossroads for people and planet. This moment offers global leaders a chance to act boldly — to recognise the deep links between health and climate, and to commit to solutions that save lives, protect the planet, and build a fairer, healthier future for all.
The C21PH aspires to be a globally recognised, vibrant, trusted, and distinguished leader in innovative public health research that drives meaningful change at local, national, and international levels to improve human and planetary health.