The American Medical Association has said that climate change remains a public health crisis that continues to threaten the health and well-being of all people.
Recall that the association had come up with anew policy that mobilizes it to advocate for policies that limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions aimed at carbon neutrality by 2050.
The policy is also expected to support rapid implementation and incentivization of clean energy solutions and significant investments in climate resilience through a climate justice lens.
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The organization is also expected to help develop a strategic plan for enacting its climate change policies, including how to decarbonize physician practices and the healthcare industry.
According to reports, the new policy also recognizes the health, safety, and climate risks of current methods of producing fossil fuel-derived hydrogen and the dangers of adding hydrogen to natural gas.
In her reaction via a statement, AMA Board Member Ilse R. Levin, D.O., MPH said “The scientific evidence is clear – our patients are already facing adverse health effects associated with climate change, from heat-related injuries, vector-borne diseases and air pollution from wildfires, to worsening seasonal allergies and storm-related illness and injuries,”
Continuing, she said, “Like the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis will disproportionately impact the health of historically marginalized communities”. “Acting now won’t reverse all of the harm done, but it will help prevent further damage to our planet and our patients’ health and well-being.”
She maintained that the policy is intended to build upon AMA’s existing policy and efforts to promote environmental sustainability and efforts to halt the global climate crisis, including a policy to help physicians in adopting environmentally sustainable programs in their practices and sharing these concepts with their patients and communities.
Story was adapted from contemporary OB/GYN.
