Justice in priority-setting for research on health and climate change

Traditionally, the academic community has prioritized the academic value of research over its social impact and relevance. About a decade ago, a study estimated that up to 85% of biomedical research was avoidably wasted. This study highlighted that a key factor contributing to research waste was the limited utility and relevance of research for interest-holders, particularly for health workers, patients, caregivers and communities. To address research waste, funders are increasingly conducting research priority-setting exercises, a formal systematic process through which interest-holders determine what research should be prioritized. Research priority-setting is important for epistemic reasons (that is, relating to knowledge) but also for moral and pragmatic purposes. Morally, people have the right to be involved in making decisions related to their health. From a pragmatic standpoint, involving interest-holders facilitates resource mobilization and reinforces accountability.

Many methods for conducting research priority-setting exercises exist, some more systematic than others and each with their own strengths and limitations. The importance of ethical principles in research priority-setting is highlighted in the World Health Organization (WHO) document WHO guidance on the ethics of health research priority-setting. However, conceptualizing research priority-setting only as a technical tool for identifying priority topics prevents it from realizing its full potential to advance justice in knowledge production systems. Advancing justice is particularly important for climate and health research because various scholars have shown that climate change, and actions to address climate change, embody multiple dimensions of injustice. These dimensions include but are not limited to the disproportionate harms to those least responsible, limited participation of marginalized groups in decision-making to protect their environment and rising inequity. Therefore, the knowledge developed to address climate change and its health and social impacts should aim to mitigate, if not redress, these injustices.

Here, I examine and describe the dimensions of justice in setting priorities for research on health and climate change using the weaving approach, which is common in Eastern and Indigenous knowledge traditions. Rather than proposing new conceptual frameworks, this approach integrates established concepts from diverse domains to clarify their intersections. Weaving also enables the pursuit of shared meaning on the topic of enquiry among all those involved or interested. This epistemological stance offers a distinct contribution, by fostering dialogue and debate across disciplines and knowledge systems. Drawing on Western constructs of justice and global health ethics, this article weaves concepts together in a nonprescriptive manner. This approach invites readers to apply their own worldviews to the individual dimensions of justice while exploring their relationalities.

Bhaumik S. Justice in priority-setting for research on health and climate change. Bull World Health Organ. 2026 May 1;104(5):357-359. doi: 10.2471/BLT.25.294480. Epub 2026 Mar 30. PMID: 42058612; PMCID: PMC13123440.