5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

We are living in the era of the 'Anthropocene', a time of dramatic expansion of human activity and rapid socio-economic and environmental change. Humanity is having a negative impact on the planet. Climate change has become a pressing issue in global society. In recent decades, the global burden of infectious diseases has decreased thanks to sanitation and prevention and control efforts. However, new types of infections, such as COVID19 pandemic, show how they remain a major threat to global health. The climate crisis in particular continues to have a myriad of impacts on the spread of disease and our response to it. Global health directly and indirectly affects people's health and is strongly mediated by environmental and social determinants of health. In the short to medium term, the health impacts of climate change will be determined primarily by population vulnerability, resilience to current climate change rates and the extent and pace of adaptation. In the longer term, the impacts will depend on the extent to which transformative action is taken now. For us sociological researchers, thinking about the environment and people's health on this global scale is an urgent issue. It is hoped that much discussion will take place.