Over 200 health journals call on world leaders to address 'catastrophic
harm to health' from climate change
Wealthy nations must do much more, much faster

Date:
September 6, 2021
Source:
BMJ
Summary:
Over 200 health journals across the world have come together
to simultaneously publish an editorial calling on world leaders
to take emergency action to limit global temperature increases,
halt the destruction of nature, and protect health.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Over 200 health journals across the world have come together to
simultaneously publish an editorial calling on world leaders to take
emergency action to limit global temperature increases, halt the
destruction of nature, and protect health.


========================================================================== While recent targets to reduce emissions and conserve biodiversity are
welcome, they are not enough and are yet to be matched with credible
short and longer term plans, it warns.

The editorial is published in leading titles from every continent
including The BMJ, The Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine,
the East African Medical Journal, the Chinese Science Bulletin, the
National Medical Journal of India, the Medical Journal of Australia,
and 50 BMJ specialist journals including BMJ Global Health and Thorax.

Never have so many journals come together to make the same statement, reflecting the severity of the climate change emergency now facing
the world.

The editorial is being published ahead of the UN General Assembly next
week, one of the last international meetings taking place before the
(COP26) climate conference in Glasgow, UK in November. This is a crucial
moment to urge all countries to deliver enhanced and ambitious climate
plans to honour the goals of the Paris Agreement, the international
treaty on climate change adopted by 195 countries in 2015.

For decades, health professionals and health journals have been warning
of the severe and growing impacts on health from climate change and the destruction of nature .



==========================================================================
The impact on health and survival of extreme temperatures, destructive
weather events, and the widespread degradation of essential ecosystems
are just some of the impacts that we are seeing more of due to a changing climate.

They disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including children
and the elderly, ethnic minorities, poorer communities and those with underlying health conditions.

The editorial urges governments to intervene to transform societies and economies, for example, by supporting the redesign of transport systems, cities, production and distribution of food, markets for financial
investments, and health systems.

Substantial investment will be needed, but this will have huge positive
health and economic benefits, including high quality jobs, reduced air pollution, increased physical activity, and improved housing and diet,
explain the authors.

Crucially, cooperation hinges on wealthy nations doing more, they
say. In particular, countries that have disproportionately created
the environmental crisis must do more to support low and middle income countries to build cleaner, healthier, and more resilient societies.

"As health professionals, we must do all we can to aid the transition to
a sustainable, fairer, resilient, and healthier world," they write. "We,
as editors of health journals, call for governments and other leaders to
act, marking 2021 as the year that the world finally changes course."
Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor-in-Chief of The BMJ, and one of the co-authors
of the editorial, said: "Health professionals have been on the frontline
of the covid- 19 crisis and they are united in warning that going above
1.5C and allowing the continued destruction of nature will bring the next,
far deadlier crisis.

Wealthier nations must act faster and do more to support those
countries already suffering under higher temperatures. 2021 has to
be the year the world changes course -- our health depends on it."
Seye Abimbola, Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Global Health, said: "What we
must do to tackle pandemics, health inequities, and climate change is
the same - global solidarity and action that recognise that, within
and across nations our destinies are inextricably linked, just as
human health is inextricably linked to the health of the planet."
Professor Alan Smyth, Joint Editor-in-Chief of Thorax, said: "Global
warming affects the future of our planet and right now it is affecting
the lung health of all of its inhabitants across all ages, from young to
old. This editorial is a call to world leaders at COP26 to take immediate
and proportionate action to limit the rise in global temperatures." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by BMJ. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Lukoye Atwoli, Abdullah H Baqui, Thomas Benfield, Raffaella Bosurgi,
Fiona Godlee, Stephen Hancocks, Richard Horton, Laurie
Laybourn-Langton, Carlos Augusto Monteiro, Ian Norman, Kirsten
Patrick, Nigel Praities, Marcel G M Olde Rikkert, Eric J Rubin,
Peush Sahni, Richard Smith, Nicholas J Talley, Sue Turale, Damia'n
Va'zquez. Call for emergency action to limit global temperature
increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health. BMJ, 2021;
n1734 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n1734 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210906091017.htm

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