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HEALTH TO BE AT THE CENTRE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 10 March 2010

The danger and cost of climate change to the health of Europeans is at the forefront of the debate as the fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health begins today in Parma, Italy.

The conference, organised by the World Health Organisation, will include representatives from across Europe and is an important forum on how to tackle cross-cutting environment and health issues such as climate change.

Minister for Public Health, Gillian Merron said:

“This conference will highlight the risk global warming poses to the health of our communities”.

“Moves to improve public health can help tackle climate change. The Government’s Change4Life movement, which is focused on fighting obesity, also improves the environment by encouraging people to walk and cycle more.

“There is already good work going on but more needs to be done”.

The significant risks to human health in the UK from unmitigated climate change are clear:

· heatwaves will result in an increase in heat-related deaths (over 35,000 excess deaths were reported from 12 European countries in the 2003 heatwave);

· increased coastal and river flooding will have major impacts on health - as well as threats to physical health, flood victims can also experience significant mental health problems as a result of personal and economic loss and stress; and

· episodic higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, caused by air pollution and often associated with heatwaves, could lead to an increase in respiratory problems and incidence of allergies.

The impact of climate change on health will be felt around the world. The densely populated coastal areas of the world are at risk from rising sea-levels, whilst malnutrition in arid areas may be exacerbated by drought.

However, many measures to combat climate change also bring benefits to health:

· reducing motor vehicle use cuts carbon dioxide emissions, which helps mitigate global warming, and also reduces respiratory problems caused by particulate pollution;

· more walking and cycling brings substantial health benefits including reduced cardiovascular disease and reduced dementia;

improved housing insulation will reduce deaths from both extreme cold and heat; in poorer countries, a reduced need to burn solid fuel indoors could have a significant impact on child and maternal health by cutting air pollution.

The UK is committed to tackling the effects of climate change. The health impacts of climate change, both in the UK and around the world, are an increasingly important justification for ambitious and urgent global action on climate change.

Notes to Editors

Further details on the conference can be found at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/meetings/environment_meeting_20100310/en/index.htmlFor further information on the Change4Life campaign , please call the Department of Health press office on 020 7210 5221

Climate Science Notes to editors

1). Carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas. More carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere will inevitably warm the planet. Globally, the 10 warmest years on record have come after 1996. The last decade (2000 – 2009) was the warmest in the whole temperature record, since 1850. Natural variation cannot explain the increase in global temperature over the past 50 years.

2). Burning fossil fuels is a major contributor to CO2. CO2 levels in the atmosphere have gone up 38% since pre-industrial times, to 387 parts per million. Rising levels of greenhouse gases are directly linked to human activity like burning fossil fuels and clearing forests. Data from ice cores verifies this. CO2 concentrations are now at their highest level for at least 800,000 years.

3). Even if we stopped releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere tomorrow, the planet would continue to warm for several decades because of the time it takes for the Earth’s climate system to respond. We are already committed to about 1.4 (Celsius) degrees of warming above pre-industrial times. Reducing long term global emissions now will help avoid the risks of the worst climate impacts in the future.

4). Higher concentrations of CO2 in the oceans increase the acidity of seawater, threatening marine ecosystems. The world’s oceans are a major source of protein for millions of people in the world.

5). Higher global temperatures are projected to:

a. Affect crop yields in all regions of the world. An average global temperature rise above 3 degrees Celsius will very likely decrease total world food production.

b. Exacerbate the availability of freshwater in some already water stressed regions in the context of higher total world population. Total world population could rise to 9.5 billion people by 2050. By 2080, under a moderate population growth projection, close to 3 billion people could be living in water-stressed areas. The Middle East, Central Asia and Mediterranean basin would be particularly badly affected.

c. Make more regions of the world at risk from infectious diseases such as dengue and malaria. Warmer temperatures and higher humidity provide hospitable environments for some disease vectors such as mosquitoes.

d. Affect coastal regions and low lying areas. As the global temperature rises, the warming oceans will continue to expand and further melting of water stored in polar ice sheets and glaciers will also occur. The combination of these two processes results in rising average global sea levels.

Contacts:

Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk