Paris Agreement is health agreement for the 21st Century
Tuesday 22 December 2015
Paris Agreement is health agreement for the 21st Century
The Paris Agreement on climate change will be at the heart of progress in public health in every country around the world, providing the blueprint for a healthy and safe future. The deal lays the groundwork for global action to limit warming well below 2°C, and needs to catalyse a transition to a decarbonised economy while protecting human well-being.
The agreement has been made possible by a fast-growing global momentum from all parts of society. The global health sector made its voice heard at COP21, with declarations representing over 1700 health organizations, over 8000 hospitals and health facilities, and 13 million health professionals calling for urgent action to protect our climate and our health.
However, the agreement is only as good as the actions we now take. Much work needs to be done by the governments of all countries, including New Zealand. The health impacts of climate change are already being seen around the world with hundreds of thousands already dying as a result of climate change each year and millions more affected by the health burden of our carbon-intensive economies. Man-made air pollution alone claims one in eight lives worldwide and more than a thousand deaths per year in New Zealand.
Health professionals are calling for governments to build on their progress in Paris. “As health professionals, we will not rest until governments have met their obligation to keep our climate safe and liveable. We have a responsibility to our patients and communities to protect health from climate impacts which cannot be avoided, and to ensure that our governments further scale up action as rapidly as possible,” Dr Alex Macmillan, co-convenor of OraTaiao said.
Now that negotiators have returned home, health leaders will ensure that governments are held accountable to the commitments made in Paris. But this will mean putting in place real policies that break with business as usual, not just buying our way out of continued emissions at the expense of households. Transforming our health, transport, food, energy and housing sectors to address climate change offers enormous opportunities to reduce deaths and illness from obesity, heart disease, cancer and lung diseases.
An unprecedented coalition of health leaders around New Zealand responded to the agreement with hope and determination to press for a healthy climate response from the Government:
Grant Brookes, President of the New
Zealand Nurses Organisation
“Nurses are
concerned that health considerations are not featuring in
New Zealand’s climate change policy – especially given
their scale and severity. Mental health impacts, in
particular, should not be overlooked. Those already
disadvantaged in terms of health access and outcomes, such
as Maori and Pacific peoples, will be particularly
vulnerable.”
“But the good news is that healthy people, healthy planet go together. Making it easier to walk, cycle and take public transport will improve public health, and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well. Fresh, locally grown food is more nutritious, and less fuel is burnt producing it and getting it to the shop. Dry, well-insulated homes reduce hospital admissions as well as energy use. Government policies to support and scale up these practical, positive steps should be implemented urgently.”
Dr George Laking, Chair of the
Climate Change & Health Working Party, Royal Australasian
College of Physicians
“Climate change already
impacts communities around the world by way of diseases,
heat and extreme weather. It is rendering people homeless,
leading to food shortages and increased levels of
malnutrition. We know that unchecked climate change will
increase the frequency and severity of droughts, floods, and
coastal storms leading to devastating consequences for all
our Pacific neighbours. This is an opportunity for the
medical community to work together, keeping the pressure on
decision makers, demanding they take real action to protect
the health of all citizens. It is an opportunity for us to
lead by example. We call on the New Zealand government to
work with urgency to make the Paris Agreement a number one
priority.”
Professor Chris Bullen, Chair of the
New Zealand Policy & Advocacy Committee, Royal Australasian
College of Physicians
“This is the first time,
since the UN formed, that member states have made such a
unified, bold commitment to action. It sends a strong
message to the public that governments all over the world
now take climate change seriously.”
Dr Caroline
McElnay, President of the New Zealand College of Public
Health Medicine
“Addressing climate change in
New Zealand will provide direct health benefits for New
Zealanders with reduction in use of fossil fuel, less air
pollution and increasing use of active transport such as
walking and cycling. What's good for the planet is also good
for us – it's a win-win situation.”
Karen
Guilliland, CEO of the New Zealand College of
Midwives
“Midwives recognise the serious
negative health consequences of our changing climate for
women, babies and their families and are hopeful that the
Paris Agreement signifies a new start to meaningful global
collaboration and positive change. Conception, the health of
pregnant women and mothers, and the lives of their babies,
depend on the health of our planet – we must work together
to chart a new course towards health, sustainability, clean
energy, and safe water and food systems.”
Carmen
Chan, Clinical Representative for the New Zealand Medical
Students Association
“As training healthcare
professionals, we stand in a position where we will see the
health needs of communities increasingly affected by climate
change. Climate variation is central to health outcomes both
now and into the future. Developing sustainable health
policies and strengthening climate ambition is pivotal to
protecting vulnerable populations and securing
intergenerational equity. The adoption of the Paris
Agreement is an important step forward, and a strong
commitment by governing bodies is now required to build
effective solutions towards climate mitigation and ensuring
healthy
livelihoods.”
ENDS