This letter, from over 350 signatories from across the health sector, calls on the Prime Minister to act to reduce the use of fossil fuels and prevent the health and economic impacts that result from air pollution and climate change.
The signatories write:
‘We welcome your recent comments on the need for climate action following Typhoon Haiyan, and call on you to reaffirm your commitment to science-based emissions reductions as recommended by the Committee on Climate Change. We also ask that you play a stronger leadership role in EU and international negotiations, and to speak out on the recent unjustifiable changes of direction by countries such as Australia and Canada.'
Air pollution shortens lives (cutting 6 months from the average UK citizen’s life expectancy), worsens respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, impairs children’s development, and is classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Its human and economic costs are largely avoidable with sustainable energy and transport policy. Climate change is an even greater threat to health for all nations. The latest assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes clear the need for rapid emissions reductions to avoid temperature rises far above the internationally-recognised 2°C limit - beyond which the risk of irreversible changes increases significantly. With the international climate summit in Warsaw having just drawn to a close, it is clear that progress in international negotiations would be greatly undermined by a weakening of the UK's climate ambition, with potentially severe repercussions. The health effects of climate change are direct - eg. heatwaves, flooding and changes in infection risk - and indirect, such as drought, food insecurity, large - scale migration and conflict.’
The full text is available here.
Please log in or sign up to comment.