Health bodies across the globe have joined their voices in demanding that international governments urgently phase out fossil fuels and fast-track renewable energy as health professionals increasingly see patients suffering from harm caused by climate change.
The worldโs leading GP and health bodies, which represent more than three million health professionals worldwide, delivered an open letter on Saturday, calling for urgent action against climate change to protect the health of communities.
โWe the family doctors, doctors and health professionals of the world call on world leaders to take urgent action to safeguard the health of global populations from the climate crisis,โ the open letter reads.
According to reports, signatories from 39 leading health bodies, including Australiaโs peak body for GPs and rural medicine, say theyโre already seeing widespread impacts on human health caused by climate change in their patients.
โAs frontline health workers, we are increasingly responding to health emergencies triggered by the climate crisis,โ they say. โYet in the face of increasing harm and suffering, new fossil fuel resources continue to be developed and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise,โ.
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Among the signatories are health bodies from Canada, India, Europe, Pacific nations and the UK, who are demanding all governments end the expansion of any new fossil fuel infrastructure and production, phase out existing fuels, remove subsidies and invest in renewable energy.
โIf we are to have any chance of limiting warming to 1.5C and halting the escalation of the climate health emergency, we must end the proliferation of fossil fuels,โ the letter says.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
