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TckTckTck partner Health Care Without Harm held a press conference today in Barcelona to call on the international community to move aggressively in order to prevent further human health impacts from climate change.
“It is impossible to have healthy people on an unhealthy planet,” said Health Care Without Harm spokesperson Josh Karliner.
HCWH joined forces with the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the World Health Organization to brief reporters on the third day of talks in Barcelona, stating that health has largely been forgotten in climate change negotiations to date. Both HEAL and Health Care Without Harm have backed targets of 40% reductions in carbon emissions by 2020, and argue that the European Union must contribute at least 35 billion Euros per year to finance global action on climate change.
There is increasing concern in the health community that not enough is being done to protect human health from climate disruptions. HCWH and HEAL highlighted their recent report, “Prescription for a Healthy Planet,” an effort by the health sector to warn negotiators about the health impacts of climate change and to provide a plan to address the problem.
These announcements mark the beginning of a global advocacy campaign by the health sector to educate world leaders and the public about the fact that the acceleration of global warming will exacerbate many existing health threats and enable the migration of many diseases to regions where they did not exist previously.
“We are trying to give a human face to the climate change negotiations,” said Dr. Roberto Bertollini from the World Health Organization, who joined the groups in the press conference Wednesday.
The groups outlined four steps for negotiators to consider as they look toward next month’s climate talks in Copenhagen. The health sector believes that any agreement must protect public health, seriously reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels, help the developing world transition to cleaner energy, and commit funding for developing countries to make the transition away from carbon dependency.
“Health concerns can be a very strong driver for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty,” said Genon Jensen from HEAL.
Public health advocates also argue that passing a binding treaty in Copenhagen could help offset some of the costs of health impacts from global warming. “We need to seal the deal in Copenhagen for health,” said Jensen from HEAL.
Noting that even the most developed nations will be unable to escape from the health threats of climate change, Bertollini said a strong climate treaty would provide “benefits not only for the next generations but also for the current generations of any age.”
The health advocates alerted reporters to a new report that will appear later this month in the leading worldwide medical journal, The Lancet, which will further elucidate the health impact of climate change.
“What is good for public health is good for the climate and what it good for climate is good for public health,” Dr. Bertollini said.
