A letter published on Thursday on behalf of the international health and medical community, addressed to COP28 President-Designate Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber demands that “countries commit to an accelerated, just and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels as the decisive path to health for all” at the annual UN climate conference, said a press release.
The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held at Expo City, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December.
The letter, supported by organisations that represent 46.3 million health professionals such as the World Medical Association, World Federation of Public Health Association and International Council of Nurses, outlines the critical need to protect human health by reducing dependence on fossil fuels, rapidly investing in clean energy technology and reducing air pollution - all from the perspective that public health will benefit from this rapid transition. This letter is also endorsed by leading medical journals such as the British Medical Journal.
World Medical Association President Dr Lujain Alqodmani stated, “As representatives of the global medical community, we fully support this letter. We are already seeing the impacts of the climate crisis on our health - heat stress, malnutrition, anxiety, vector-borne diseases, and respiratory illnesses due to dirty air to name a few. Extreme weather events have another far-reaching impact- hospitals and healthcare centres that are meant to provide cure and relief are often first in the line of fire, with access and infrastructure getting hit. Our dangerous addiction to fossil fuels will only aggravate this further. This is why we think that a rapid transition to clean and equitable forms of energy is a win-win on all fronts.”
World Federation for Public Health Associations President Prof Luis Eugenio de Souza said, “To protect public health from climate change, the health sector must become a leading voice for a rapid, just, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels and toward accessible, affordable, clean, renewable and healthy energy. If we cannot rapidly kick civilization’s fossil fuel addiction, many of our efforts at health development will be in vain. The health sector cannot adapt its way out of the climate crisis.”
International Council of Nurses President Dr Pam Cipriano said, “When disaster strikes, hospitals and health care centres are often at the forefront. They are also the epicentre of addressing the escalating and noxious effects of climate change that are robbing people of their health. We are seeing more people come into our health care centres, hospitals and clinics complaining of heat exhaustion, respiratory issues and allergies, and second-hand smoke exposure among other things. We firmly believe that COP28 is an opportunity to adopt unified solutions and take action to implement mitigation and adaptation policies that also protect our health. This means phasing out “dirty energy” like coal, oil and gas that have negative impacts on health and the environment and prioritising clean energy sources. We must invest in a healthy and climate-safe future--the time to act on this is now.”
The letter also states that a full and rapid phase-out of fossil fuels is the most significant way to address the health impacts of climate change. An energy transition that is just and equitable for all and unlocking finance is an essential path to deliver this transition
This letter was coordinated by the Health Care Without Harm and Global Climate and Health Alliance on behalf of the climate and health community.
