Climate change is a global health emergency. It is impacting
the health of our communities today. A growing number of health organizations
around the world are taking climate action – from working on the front lines to
take care of communities impacted by climate-related threats, to responding to health
emergencies, to taking ambitious steps towards reducing the carbon footprint of
our health systems.
We must do more.
As the world faces unprecedented heat, droughts, fires, and
storms, this is a crucial moment for global leaders to ratchet-up their commitments
to climate action. To achieve the ambition of both the Sustainable
Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, the global community must accelerate
action to protect our health and that of future generations. I call on leaders
in all sectors and at all levels of government, to act now to support healthy
people, in healthy places, on a healthy planet.
Climate Change threatens to undo decades of health and
development gains and is the “greatest public health challenge of the
21st century”. Extreme heat and weather events caused thousands of deaths
and displaced over 200 million people between 2008 and 2015; air pollution,
whose primary driver–fossil fuel combustion– is also the primary driver of
climate change, caused over 7.8 million deaths in 2018; vector-borne diseases
are spreading to new communities; the agricultural, food, and water systems we
depend on for our survival are under threat; and the frequency and severity of
droughts, floods, and fires are increasing.
Action to reduce climate change can dramatically improve
health. Many policies that move us towards our climate goals have
demonstrable and significant health benefits. Climate action in the energy,
transportation, land use, agricultural, and other sectors has the potential to
avoid millions of preventable deaths each year.
Shifting to renewable energy, sustainable food production
and diets, active transportation, and green cities will lower climate pollution
while simultaneously reducing the incidence of communicable and non-communicable
disease, improving mental health, and bringing significant health care cost
savings.
Climate action offers a path to sustainable and healthy
development for all. All countries have a shared but widely varying
responsibility in their role in causing climate change, and differing
capabilities to address its impacts.
To meet their development and health goals, many low and
middle-income countries must invest in a significant expansion of energy
generation capacity while adapting to a changing climate. Wealthy
countries and those historically responsible for the most carbon emissions must
take the lead in reducing their emissions and supporting both the clean energy
transition and global adaptation initiatives. Prioritizing health in climate and
energy policy can help ensure sustainable development and greater global
equity.
By mobilizing climate action for health and health
action for climate, health professionals and health organizations can become
leaders in achieving emissions reduction goals and building healthy communities
that are resilient in the face of climate risks. We must also proactively
protect the most vulnerable among us – children and women, the poor,
marginalized people of all races and ethnicities, the aged and people with
disabilities and chronic illness.
As leading health professionals and organizations from
around the world, we call on local, national, and global policymakers to act
now to significantly reduce climate pollution and build climate resilience.
We also call on people of all nations to engage their governments and
demand a robust response.
With the right policies and investments today, i have
the opportunity to realize our vision of healthy people in healthy places
on a healthy planet. The ten priority actions outlined below are urgent
and essential steps to protect health and advance human well-being in the era
of climate change.
CLIMATE ACTION FOR HEALTH
Making health integral to climate policymaking at all levels
and across all sectors offers a major opportunity to strengthen support for
climate action, advance climate solutions, and achieve ambitious health targets
through win-win strategies that promote climate justice and health equity.
Priority Actions
(1)Meet and
strengthen the commitments under the Paris Agreement. A large and
rapid reduction in carbon emissions is essential for our health and the health
of future generations. All nations must meet and exceed their commitments under
the Paris Agreement and strengthen these commitments in coming climate negotiations.
Subnational governments, business, and civil society must
actively contribute to and support aggressive emissions reductions, which must
be sufficient to achieve a target of 1.5° above pre-industrial levels.
(2) Transition away
from the use of coal, oil and natural gas to clean, safe, and renewable
energy. With the technology available today, we can dramatically change
our energy use and systems to meet growing energy needs affordably, while
reducing climate and air pollution. Key policies include:
·
Set ambitious goals for renewable energy, energy
efficiency, and energy conservation in electricity production, energy systems
and buildings. Establish mechanisms to track and enforce progress towards these
targets.
·
Phase-out investments in and subsidies for
fossil fuels for energy generation. Transition financing to the technologies
and infrastructure needed for development, adoption, and scale-up of renewable
energy sources and investments in energy efficiency.
·
Ensure that climate policies support energy
access and sustainable energy for all by promoting distributed renewable energy
technologies in energy-poor communities while enabling countries to meet energy
needs for development.
·
Maximize health benefits by reducing
conventional air pollutants alongside reductions in carbon emissions, ensuring
climate justice and improving health equity.
(3) Transition to
zero-carbon transportation systems with an emphasis on active transportation. By
moving our transportation systems from fossil-fuel centered models to ones
based on renewable energy and human health, we can significantly reduce air
pollution and carbon emissions. Shifting from driving to active modes of travel
– walking, bicycling, and public transit – can substantially reduce rates of
non-communicable diseases and injuries. Key policies include:
·
Increase investments in infrastructure and
programs to promote safe walking and bicycling.
·
Increase investments in affordable, accessible
and convenient public transit infrastructure, maintenance, and operations.
·
Set ambitious targets and create incentives to
increase fuel efficiency and ultimately replace gasoline and diesel vehicles
with electric vehicles powered by renewable energy sources.
(4) Build local,
healthy, and sustainable food and agricultural systems. By changing
what we eat, and how we grow, harvest and transport our food, we can protect
our health and significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Practices that
conserve and regenerate our soil, conserve our water, and sustain our fisheries
are essential to safeguard our food supply in the face of climate impacts.
Building resilient local food systems can support the livelihoods of
agricultural communities, expand access to healthy food, and reduce carbon
emissions. Key policies include:
·
Reduce meat consumption and production, and
expand plant-based diets.
·
Reduce food waste.
·
End deforestation for the expansion of
industrial agriculture.
·
Promote legal, trade, and financing policies
that prioritize and enable sustainable agro-ecological practices and reduce
reliance on industrial animal-based agriculture and environmentally damaging
agricultural and fisheries practices.
(5) Invest
in policies that support a just transition for workers and communities
adversely impacted by the move to a low-carbon economy. Sustainable
and equitable climate solutions must focus on providing economic and energy
security for all, including fair employment and economic opportunities for
workers and communities that rely on fossil fuel industries. Investing in a
low-carbon economy and marginalized communities can move us away from unhealthy
energy systems and build shared prosperity. Key policies include:
·
Address the health impacts of resource
extraction on vulnerable populations including rural, remote, and indigenous
communities.
·
Engage affected workers and communities in
climate and energy policymaking.
·
Build social protection through investment in
green jobs and programs that support worker and community transition to good
jobs in a green economy, particularly in communities affected by climate
mitigation policies.
(6) Ensure that
gender equality is central to climate action. Women are particularly affected
by poverty, are more vulnerable to climate impacts, and have less access to the
political, economic, and social resources that enable them to cope with climate
threats, Climate policies must respond accordingly. Key policies include:
·
Engage women proactively in the design and
implementation of climate solutions.
·
Build considerations of gender, gender
inequality, and gender vulnerability, into all climate and health policymaking.
·
Ensure women and girls have access to financial,
educational and other resources for climate adaptation and resilience.
HEALTH ACTION FOR CLIMATE
Health professionals and health organizations must play a
leading role in tackling climate change. We pledge – and we call on our health
colleagues to commit – to urgently and aggressively reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in health facilities; to build resilience through the integration of
climate considerations in health systems, policies, programs, and investments;
and to proactively communicate the health threats of climate change together
with the health benefits of climate action.
Priority Actions
(7) Raise
the health sector voice in the call for climate action. Successfully
addressing climate change will require that the health sector proactively
engages in strong and sustained advocacy and communications with policymakers
and the public. Key policies include:
·
Raise awareness about the health impacts of
climate change and the health benefits of climate action through local and
national education campaigns.
·
Speak out on climate change and health, and
advocate for healthy climate solutions with subnational and national
policymakers.
·
Ensure health professionals have the knowledge
and training to communicate effectively to patients and policymakers alike
about climate change and health by integrating climate change into all public
and environmental health and medical training and certification curricula.
(8)
Incorporate climate solutions into all health care and public health systems. Hospitals,
health care systems and health organizations can lead by example by
implementing climate-smart health care, reducing their carbon footprint,
building facility resilience and leveraging their economic power to decarbonize
the supply chain and promote equitable local economic development. Key policies
include:
·
Reduce health care systems’ emissions in
alignment with the Paris Agreement.
·
Develop low-carbon care pathways and models of
care, including community-based interventions that address social determinants
of health, thereby reducing the need for more environmentally impactful acute
and clinical care.
·
Implement energy efficiency, deploy renewable
energy, and implement sustainable water, transportation, food, anesthetic gas,
and waste management practices.
·
Build low-carbon healthcare product
manufacturing facilities, supply chains, and procurement systems, while
also sourcing products from and investing in local environmentally sustainable
economic initiatives that support community health.
·
Invest in healthcare facilities’ resilience to
extreme weather, with their construction and siting following best practices in
sustainability.
(9) Build
resilient communities in the face of climate change. Climate change is a global
phenomenon, but it is people and communities at the local level that experience
its consequences. Climate and health action will be most effective when
those most impacted have the voice, power, and capacity to be full partners in
building a healthy, equitable, and climate resilient future. Health
professionals, systems and organizations must support communities to prepare
for, respond to, and be resilient in the face of climate change. Key policies include:
·
Invest in strong and equitable health systems as
an essential step to reducing the health impacts of climate change.
·
Assess and monitor the health impacts of climate
change and climate vulnerability and the health benefits of climate action at
the community level.
·
Promote social cohesion and build the capacity
of frontline health and community organizations to respond to climate threats,
maintain operations during climate emergencies and bounce forward after climate
disasters.
·
Fund and implement national, state and local
climate-health risk assessments, expanded disease surveillance systems,
research and early warning systems that enable an effective response to climate
threats. Make all data publicly available.
·
Emphasize nature-based solutions and restoration
of ecosystem services that support community health and resilience.
·
Integrate climate, health, and equity
considerations into land use planning and infrastructure standards to ensure
climate resilience.
FINANCING CLIMATE ACTION FOR HEALTH AND HEALTH ACTION
FOR CLIMATE
Turning these recommendations into reality and achieving
global goals for health, climate, and sustainable development will require
greater financial investment. Current investments in climate
solutions fall far short of what is needed to protect health, and current
investments in health do too little to take climate considerations into
account.
Priority Action
(10) Invest in
climate and health. Development agencies, multilateral organizations,
governments, civil society, and business must expand their investments in
healthy and equitable climate solutions, climate-smart health systems,
community adaptation and resilience, and climate-health research.
Together, these ten policy recommendations provide a roadmap
that governments and communities worldwide can use as they develop
comprehensive and coordinated strategies for tackling climate change and
health.
I believe that all people, including future generations,
have the right to the environmental, economic and social resources needed to
live healthy and productive lives. As we step up to the challenge of building a
health sector free from climate pollution and supportive of resilient
communities. I also call on leaders in all sectors and at all levels of
government to act now to reverse climate change and support healthy people on a
healthy planet.
No comments:
Post a Comment