The Lancet Countdown

What The Lancet Countdown does

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is a London-based non-profit international research collaboration founded in 2016, headquartered at University College London's Institute for Global Health. It operates as an indicator-tracking initiative to monitor the health impacts of climate change and the health co-benefits of climate action, producing an annual global report published in The Lancet journal alongside regional reports for Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Its core technology is an indicator framework of 40+ climate-health metrics, supported by an interactive data platform providing downloadable datasets for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons licence. The collaboration is convened by an executive director and nearly 300 contributing researchers from more than 50 leading academic institutions and UN agencies, with six regional centres providing localised analysis and sub-national data.

Name

The Lancet Countdown

Legal name

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change

Website

https://lancetcountdown.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Lancet Countdown is an international research collaboration that tracks the health impacts of climate change through annual indicator-based reports published in The Lancet. Funded by Wellcome and hosted by UCL, it convenes ~300 researchers across 50+ institutions and UN agencies, operating six regional centres spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, and SIDS.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate-Health Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

Forecasting, Modeling & Early Warning Systems (Syndromic/Nowcasting) (HLAJAJAO)

Keywords

• Climate health monitoring
• Public health research
• Global health indicators
• Policy evidence research
• Environmental health data

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Core Funding: Strategic and financial support from Wellcome, a politically and financially independent global charitable foundation that supports science to solve urgent health issues including climate change

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Lancet Countdown is an international research collaboration that produces annual indicator-based reports tracking the connections between climate change and human health globally. It provides regional reports, an interactive Data Platform, country policy resources, and multimedia educational content to inform health-protective climate policy and adaptation decisions. Outputs are distributed free of charge under a Creative Commons licence to support evidence-based action by governments, health agencies, and academic institutions.

Product overview

The Lancet Countdown is a research collaboration that publishes annual indicator reports tracking the health dimensions of climate change. The core product is the annual Global Report published in The Lancet, supplemented by regional reports (Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, SIDS), a Data Platform with downloadable indicator data, country-specific policy resources, and multimedia educational content. The portfolio functions as a knowledge platform rather than a commercial software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lancet Countdown Global Report

Quantifiable outcome

• 62,000 heat-related deaths tracked in Europe in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University College London (UCL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016The Lancet Countdown is headquartered at UCL's Institute for Global Health. UCL is London's leading global university, ranked consistently in the top 10 worldwide, and provides institutional hosting and academic infrastructure.
• The LancetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016The Lancet publishes the annual Lancet Countdown reports. Founded in 1823, The Lancet is an independent international weekly general medical journal committed to making science widely available to transform society.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016WHO contributes experts and participates in the collaboration, with Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General) providing endorsements. WHO Regional Office for Europe is also listed among collaborating institutions.
• Academic Institutions (50+)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Over 50 leading academic centres including Columbia University, Oxford, Harvard, MIT, Tsinghua University, University of Melbourne, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and many others contribute researchers and expertise to the collaboration.
• UN Agencies and Multilateral OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016UN agencies including WHO and WMO contribute to the collaboration, with the WHO-WMO Joint Climate and Health Office listed as a collaborating institution. UNDP co-organises events on integrating health into NDCs.
• Global Heat Health Information NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for webinar on climate change and heat addressing current challenges and emerging risks through climate-health indicators.
• IDAlertminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for webinar on climate change and infectious diseases addressing current challenges and emerging risks through climate-health indicators.
• UCL Grand ChallengesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for webinars on climate-health topics. UCL Grand Challenges collaborates on climate change and health events.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSF contributed a Joint Brief to the 2025 report, highlighting how climate change and environmental degradation complicate humanitarian response.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly organised event at COP30 on promoting health and sustainable development through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): GRI provides a widely used sustainability reporting framework with climate and increasingly health-related indicators adopted by organisations globally. Comparable as a standards-setting indicator organisation shaping climate (and now health) disclosure, though oriented around corporate reporting rather than health outcomes.
• World Resources Institute (WRI): WRI is a large global research organisation producing data-driven analysis on climate, health, and sustainable development with global policy influence. It is comparable in operating model (independent research informing climate and health policy) but broader in scope across environment and development topics.
• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP): CDP runs a global disclosure system for environmental data, including climate-health-relevant corporate and governmental reporting. It is comparable as an indicator-based data platform influencing policy and corporate behaviour, though oriented around disclosure rather than academic indicator tracking.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The IPCC is the UN's authoritative scientific body producing periodic assessment reports on the physical science, impacts, and mitigation of climate change, including dedicated health chapters. It is the broadest incumbent reference for evidence-based climate-health assessment at the global level.

Regional players

• US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP): USGCRP coordinates US federal research on global change and produces the National Climate Assessment, including health-relevant indicators and impacts analysis. Comparable in its indicator-based climate-health monitoring and policy linkage, but US-focused rather than global.

Emerging players

• Carbon Brief: Carbon Brief is a UK-based climate science journalism and analysis site covering climate policy and science for policymakers and the public. Comparable as a climate-information intermediary targeting policy and media audiences, though commercial rather than academic.
• Health Care Without Harm: Health Care Without Harm is an international non-profit working at the intersection of healthcare delivery and climate/environmental sustainability, producing evidence and policy resources for the health sector. Comparable as a health-climate research and policy organisation with global reach and a health-sector focus.

Direct peers

• Climate Action Tracker (CAT): CAT is an independent scientific research collaboration producing indicator-based tracking of government climate action and its health and policy implications. Comparable in its indicator-driven monitoring model and policy-focused output cadence, though focused on emissions trajectories rather than health outcomes specifically.
• Climate Central: Climate Central is a US-based non-profit that produces research and communications on climate science and its impacts, including health-relevant indicators. It is directly comparable as a climate-impact research and policy communications organisation with scientific outputs targeted at policymakers and the public.

Others

• Nature Conservancy: The Nature Conservancy is a large environmental non-profit producing scientific research and policy outputs on climate, biodiversity, and health connections globally. Comparable as a science-driven environmental non-profit with policy influence, though its primary focus is conservation rather than health outcomes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lancetcountdown
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lancet-countdown
• Facebookfacebook.com/lancetcountdown

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Lancet Countdown