PRESS RELEASE: 'Health is the most important motivation for climate action'
You can read the declaration at: http://dohadeclaration.weebly.com
Health and medical groups from around the world are calling for health to be made central to the international climate talks, saying "human health is profoundly threatened by our global failure to halt emissions growth and curb climate change."
This morning, a stunt coordinated by students from Healthy Planet UK and the IFMSA highlighted the importance of including a greater health perspective in the climate discussions. Representing the Earth as a seriously ill patient, they showed how the combined efforts of a health professional, mitigation, adaptation, the Green Climate Fund and education working together were eventually able to turn things around.
The combined health impacts of both climate change both and a carbon-intensive economy have been extensively researched, yet there is only limited knowledge about the health impacts amongst climate negotiators.
On the basis that health can act as a driver for stronger climate policy, and the commitment and cooperation that this urgently requires, numerous representatives of the international health community – including both the World Medical Association and the International Council of Nurses - have produced the ‘Doha Declaration on Climate Health and Wellbeing’. 900 individuals have also signed the associated petition already.
Other international signatories to the Doha Declaration include the European Public Health Association, the UK's Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Public Health Association of Australia, Australia’s Climate and Health Alliance, the UK Climate and Health Council, Health Care Without Harm, the Health and Environment Alliance, C3 Collaborating for Health, Healthy Planet UK, the International Federation of Medical Students, OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate & Health Council, NHS Sustainable Development Unit, Umeå Center for Global Health Research, and many others.
The Doha Declaration calls for health to be central to climate action, and highlights the opportunities to improve health through emissions reductions - pointing out that reducing fossil fuel consumption and moving to low carbon energy systems can deliver many benefits to health worldwide. "The impact of climate change on health is one of the most significant measures of harm associated with our warming planet," the Declaration says. "Protecting health is therefore one of the most important motivations for climate action."
Amongst other more specific recommendations, the Declaration calls for:
· the health impacts of climate change to be taken into account nationally and internationally in developing climate policies;
· investment in climate mitigation and adaptation programs to protect and promote health to be significantly and rapidly increased; and
· the health sector to be engaged and included in designing and leading climate mitigation and adaptation worldwide.
"As representatives of health communities around the world, we argue that strategies to achieve rapid and sustained emissions reductions and protect health must be implemented in a time frame to avert further loss and damage," the health and medical groups declare.
The Declaration ends, "we recognise that this will require exceptional courage and leadership from our political, business and civil society leaders, including the health sector; acceptance from the global community about the threats to health posed by our current path; and a willingness to act to realise the many benefits of creating low carbon, healthy, sustainable and resilient societies."
For media enquiries and background resources, contact: Fiona Armstrong - [email protected] or Isobel Braithwaite - [email protected]
The Main Policy asks of the Doha Declaration
The health impacts of climate change to be taken into account domestically and globally
- Health impacts and co-benefits to be fully evaluated, costed and reflected in all domestic, regional and global climate decisions on both mitigation and adaptation;
- Health and environmental costs to be reflected in corporate and national accounts;
- Assessment of loss and damage from climate change to include impacts on human health, wellbeing and community resilience, as well as impacts to health care infrastructure and systems;
Investment in climate mitigation and adaptation to be significantly increased on a rapid timescale
- Priority given to decarbonisation of national and global energy supplies;
- Cessation of fossil fuel subsidies globally and greater funding for renewable and clean technologies;
- Funding for programs to support and protect health in vulnerable countries to be significantly increased;
- Investment in adaptation and mitigation programs that can demonstrate health benefits to be substantially increased;
The health sector and the community to be engaged and informed on climate action
- The health sector to be engaged and included in the processes of designing and leading climate mitigation and adaptation worldwide;
- National and global education programs to increase public awareness of the health effects of climate change and promote the health co-benefits of low carbon pathways; and
- More inclusive consultation processes in global climate negotiations to reflect the views of young people, women and indigenous people.
- Health impacts and co-benefits to be fully evaluated, costed and reflected in all domestic, regional and global climate decisions on both mitigation and adaptation;
- Health and environmental costs to be reflected in corporate and national accounts;
- Assessment of loss and damage from climate change to include impacts on human health, wellbeing and community resilience, as well as impacts to health care infrastructure and systems;
Investment in climate mitigation and adaptation to be significantly increased on a rapid timescale
- Priority given to decarbonisation of national and global energy supplies;
- Cessation of fossil fuel subsidies globally and greater funding for renewable and clean technologies;
- Funding for programs to support and protect health in vulnerable countries to be significantly increased;
- Investment in adaptation and mitigation programs that can demonstrate health benefits to be substantially increased;
The health sector and the community to be engaged and informed on climate action
- The health sector to be engaged and included in the processes of designing and leading climate mitigation and adaptation worldwide;
- National and global education programs to increase public awareness of the health effects of climate change and promote the health co-benefits of low carbon pathways; and
- More inclusive consultation processes in global climate negotiations to reflect the views of young people, women and indigenous people.
