"Prescription for a Healthy Planet" - climate change poses deadly risk for health

Brussels, 6 October 2009, two leading European health organisations handed a giant "Prescription for a Healthy Planet" to European Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.

The health community is asking the EU to provide a better “treatment” for the ailing climate negotiations.

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) has launched the campaign to increase focus on the effects on human health and to bring the voice of the health sector in the crucial weeks leading up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen, 7-18 December 2009.

The organisations are joined by the UK Climate and Health Council whose high level pledge on climate change and health has already been signed by many thousands of doctors and health professionals. At the reception, European Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou said: "Climate change is a major issue for all EU policy areas, and it is clear that its impact on human, animal and plant health will be of massive importance to citizens in years to come.

"Each organisation and every citizen can also contribute substantially to reducing their own climate footprint. The ’Prescription for a Healthy Planet’ is one such initiative and I welcome the high level of concern from health and medical professionals for the future of our planet."

EU position should reflect health impact of climate change

Health groups urged Ms Vassiliou to present the health arguments to representatives of the EU delegation to Copenhagen and to other EU commissioners, including Stavros Dimas, the Environment Commissioner as the EU sets to finalize its negotiating position.

"The arguments about the health impact should be used right now to help achieve a 40% target on carbon reductions compared to 1990 emission levels by 2020 and to counterbalance the debate on how much climate will cost us," said Génon Jensen, Executive Director of HEAL. "Higher targets on carbon emission reductions mean better air quality, less ill health, greater public health protection and healthcare savings."

Savings on health costs that can be achieved from a higher target on carbon emission reductions are estimated at up to 25 billion Euros per year from 2020 onwards. These result from avoiding the costs of premature deaths, hospital admissions, days lost to ill health and extra medications that would be associated with higher levels of air pollution if strong action is not taken.

The Prescription campaign is driven by growing concern within the health and medical sector about the health impact of climate change, and how they can be more involved in crucial climate talks. "It is disappointing that none of the climate change funding is explicitly directed at health. Experts consider global warming to be potentially the biggest health threat in the 21st century yet the health arguments are not taken on board and acted upon,” said Anja Leetz, Executive Director, Health Care Without Harm Europe.

Ms Leetz added: "We are recommending that by 2020 the EU contribute at least 35 billion Euros per year to fund global action on climate change. A proportion of this should be allocated to the health sector." Some hospitals are already engaged in installing solar panels and encouraging staff to walk or cycle to work rather than travelling in private cars.

The European launch of the Prescription for a Healthy Planet sets the scene for the next stage in the campaign. A new website and publicity campaign is expected to draw support from dozens of major health and medical organisations and thousands of healthcare and public health individuals all over the world. They will be invited to endorse and send the Prescription to their own governments highlighting policy responses to climate change that would protect the health of our communities. At the UNFCCC pre-Copenhagen meeting in Barcelona in November a Global Network on Health and Climate Change will launched, joining the European efforts to those of other regions to prepare for actions and policy responses beyond Copenhagen.

EPHA joins campain

EPHA has joined the campaign, and supports HEAL’s work on climate change "Climate change is the single biggest threat to health that is facing humanity" said Monika Kosinska, EPHA Secretary General. "Officials in Copenhagen will be negotiating our future - and health concerns have to be at the centre of these discussions".

"Once again, it is the most vulnerable who will be hit hardest over the next 50 years" she continued, "It is the same patterns of behaviour that are causing climate change and obesity - this is our final opportunity for intervention before we are launched into an unstable and uncertain future with new communicable disease patterns and extreme weather conditions at best, and an unprecedented global disaster at worst".

For more information about the campaign, please click here.

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Climate Change Negotiations and Health Protection for the World’s Poor

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