International
Health experts, the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA), have
added their voice to the climate action movement, arguing that the health risks
posed by a global temperature rise are too grave to ignore. The health
professionals are basing their argument on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report on
climate change, which was released on Monday to intense global interest.
The IPCC's
‘Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability’, affirms
that humans are responsible for the earth’s warming which is having a
devastating impact on communities globally. According to the United
Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) the period from 2001-2010
was found to be the hottest decade on record.
People in
the developing world are disproportionately affected by this rise in world
temperature, with lower crop yields resulting in rising levels of under
nutrition. This climate induced problem stunts child growth and inhibits full
development. Similarly, weather disasters such as last year’s Typhoon Haiyan
have had a severe and resoundingly negative impact on local communities, with
significant numbers of casualties left in their wake.
Drawing on
the IPCC’s data, the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) has
developed a briefing report to highlight the precise health implications of
climate change. Sue Atkinson, Co-Chair of the Climate and Health Council
describes the rise in temperatures as the “biggest threat to public health” and
notes that without “urgent action to curb emissions, both by individuals and
organisations, the impact on the health of many will continue to increase”.
The GCHA
believes the UNFCCC conference in Paris 2015 presents a key opportunity for
tackling this alarming problem, and urges political leaders worldwide to commit
to a binding and ambitious climate treaty. However, the health coalition also
emphasize that small-scale actions such as increased use of bicycles can tackle
greenhouse gas emissions effectively while also having a significant
health benefit for individual cyclists.
Gary Cohen,
President, Health Care Without Harm, has stressed that those in the medical profession must demonstrate
climate leadership by “by anchoring the community response to extreme
weather events, leading by examples in mitigating its own climate footprint
and becoming powerful messengers for climate policies that will improve the
health of our communities and the planet.”
Mark Kenber,
CEO, The Climate Group, responded
to the GCHA's report by drawing attention to the threat climate changes poses
to international water security: "It is very encouraging to see such
eminent international health experts lend their voices to the
campaign for action on climate change. Climate scientists have predicted that
the rise in global temperature will have a significant impact on drinking
water both in terms of quantity and quality."
Borrowed from http://www.theclimategroup.org/what-we-do/news-and-blogs/if-human-health-is-to-be-protected-climate-change-must-be-tackled-global-health-leaders-urge-leaders-to-act/
