Unhealthy Investments: media coverage and next steps

Yesterday evening marked the launch of Unhealthy Investments, the report on climate change, global health and the fossil fuel industry. Medact and Healthy Planet produced this report, published alongside the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, the Climate and Health Council, and medsin, as a tool to help health workers make the case for their representative bodies, funders, and other health sector institutions to divest from the fossil fuel industry. The report argues that:

• Eighty per cent of existing fossil fuel reserves must remain unburned to avoid the worst effects of climate change, yet the fossil fuel industry continues to exploit still more.
• By investing in the fossil fuel industry, we fund it. We simply cannot go on this way. It is time for health workers to stand up for human and planetary health.
• One in eight deaths worldwide are caused by particulate air pollution, yet we continue to expand fossil fuel power and high-carbon transport infrastructure.

This infographic from Unhealthy Investments illustrates estimated death tolls per unit energy produced for different modes of energy generation.

There has been significant coverage of the report’s launch in various venues.

• The most-read piece in the Environment section of the Guardian today has been this article by Damian Carrington; he states that the Wellcome Trust, who currently have over £450m invested in fossil fuel companies, were unable to provide any concrete examples of their engagement with these companies as shareholder activists despite this being their primary stated reason for refusing to divest.
• The BMJ has covered the release, emphasising the health impacts of particulate air pollution in the UK and the contribution of fossil fuels to this death toll.
•  An article in Geographic Magazine, the publication of the Royal Geographical Society, focuses on the impact of fossil fuels on London’s health, in particular the 3,389 Londoners annually lost to air pollution-caused disease, according to research by Public Health England.
• The sustainable business community across Europe is paying attention, with coverage in both BusinessGreen and greenbiz.it .
• A positive reaction on social media has been led by 350.org activists worldwide, this viral image quoting HP coordinator Al, for example, being shared over 100 times in just a few hours.
• Edit 4/2/15 22:41: ClimateProgress also pick up the story, with an article that looks in a bit greater depth at the health impacts of climate change, particularly in the US.
  

What now?

This is only the beginning; the report and related resources, and the coverage and debate surrounding it, provide the perfect tools for healthcare students and health workers to take the case for divestment – and action on the health impacts of climate change – to their universities, trusts, unions, professional organisations, representative bodies, and other representatives of the health community. How can we go about doing this? Some ideas:

• If you would like to work with us and groups like Medact on tackling climate change as an issue of global health and social justice, then get in touch with us! Visit our Contact Us page for details.
• February 13th-14th is Global Divestment Day worldwide – groups campaigning for a fairer, fossil-free future across the globe will be marking the occasion with direct actions, information events, lobbying efforts, and much more besides. Visit the 350.org website to find out how you can take part – or join us on actions in London and Edinburgh.
• If you are a current or future health worker, your professional organisation – the Royal Colleges, Societies and the like – are YOUR voice in the UK public arena. Let them know that you don’t want it to be used in support of the fossil fuel industry. We’re working on resources to help members contact their Colleges directly; for now, if you’d like some assistance, get in touch with us.
• Talk to your colleagues, bosses, friends, family – anyone who will listen – about the need for action. UN talks in Paris this December could decide the fate of the world – a sustainable future for all, or rising temperatures, oceans, and death tolls. If there was ever a time for the health community to make its voice heard, it is now.
  

For more on divestment and health, visit the Unhealthy Investments report site: www.unhealthyinvestments.uk.