Sent on behalf of
the Department of Health
Health should be at the centre of our fight against climate
change, Health Secretary, Andy Burnham will say today (Wednesday)
at the launch of a new report on Health and Climate Change.
The report calls on health ministers and professionals across the
world to recognise the danger that climate change poses to health,
in the run up to the UN conference in Copenhagen in December.
Key findings in the report show that:
- changes towards a low carbon transport system could reduce the
health impacts of urban air pollution and physical inactivity;
- housing insulation can reduce deaths from both extreme cold
and heat;
- changes in farming practice to reduce livestock
and overall meat consumption could improve health by lowering the
intake of saturated fat; and
- in poor countries, a reduced
need to burn solid fuel indoors could have a significant impact on
child and maternal health by cutting indoor air pollution.
Speaking at the launch Andy Burnham will pledge to bring the
human health cost of climate change to the forefront of the
debate, to prevent the dramatic impact on people’s lives. He will
highlight the ‘human face’ of climate change in a world where
rising sea levels are already displacing communities, and
increased temperature is causing malaria to spread up hills and
mountains.
The Health Secretary will make the case for policies that improve
health as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to help ‘tip
the balance in favour of ambitious climate change action’.
Andy Burnham said:
"Climate change can seem a distant, impersonal threat -
in fact, the associated costs to health are a very real and
present danger.
“Health Ministers across the globe must act now to highlight the
risk global warming poses to the health of our communities. We
need well-designed climate change policies that drive health
benefits.
“This is a landmark year for climate change, with the world
coming together at the Copenhagen conference in December. The call
to action does not end there – this is the start of a journey in
which small but committed changes can make a significant
difference to global health.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband said;
“Climate change is a serious threat to public health. To
protect the world’s health we must stop dangerous climate change
happening and limit temperature increases to no more than 2°C. An
ambitious and fair deal in Copenhagen will not only have major
benefits in terms of reducing the climate change related spread of
infectious diseases and risks to food supply, but will also result
in immediate green benefits in terms of a healthier environment
and lifestyle for a low carbon Britain – and a low carbon
world.
“This is why we are going to Copenhagen to secure
an ambitious, effective and fair deal for everyone. “
International Development Minister, Mike Foster said:
"Climate change and health are two of the biggest
barriers to tackling poverty - they go hand in hand. It is a sad
irony that the people who have contributed the least to global
carbon emissions are the first to suffer the consequences of
climate change.
"If we don't take action now the
consequences for the world's poor will be devastating. By
2080 climate change could mean an extra 600 million people
worldwide are affected by malnutrition, an extra 400 million
people could be exposed to malaria and an extra 1.8 billion people
could be living without enough water. That is why the UK is
pushing for an ambitious global deal at Copenhagen that works not
just for us, but also for the world's poorest people.”
Key findings of the report, are:
- Saturated fat: Efficiency improvements in the food and
agriculture sector must be accompanied by a 30 per cent reduction
in livestock in high-producing countries to meet climate change
targets. If this translates into reduced meat consumption, the
amount of saturated fat consumed would drop sharply, which would
have positive effects on health through reductions in heart disease.
- Urban land transport: Cutting emissions through more walking
and cycling, and reducing motor vehicle use, would bring
substantial health benefits including reduced cardiovascular
disease, depression, diabetes and dementia.
- Household energy use: In low-income countries, inefficient
traditional solid fuel stoves create very high levels of indoor
air pollutants – leading to a variety of heart and respiratory
problems as well as producing greenhouse pollutants. National
programmes to introduce low-emission stove technology could avert
millions of premature deaths, and constitute one of the strongest
and most cost-effective climate-health linkages.
- Short-lived greenhouse pollutants: These – including sulphate
and black carbon – account for a substantial portion of global
warming and also have significant health impacts. A reduction in
the emissions of black carbon and ozone precursors would offer
almost immediate benefits. Evidence relating to sulphate particles
is more mixed.
- Carbon-based energy: Decreasing the proportion of carbon-based
electricity generation would lead to significant health benefits
worldwide. Middle-income countries such as India and China would
see the largest benefit, but developed nations such as the EU
states would also see health gains. The costs of these changes
would be significantly offset by reduced costs of death from air
pollution, especially in China and India.
Notes to Editors
The Lancet report, which was part-funded by the Department of
Health, the Wellcome Tust, the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine, The National Institute for Health Research, US
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, The Academy
of Medical Sciences, and the Royal College of Physicians is
available at: www.wellcome.ac.uk/climate change
The conference, held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine was linked with a simultaneous event in Washington. A
summary of findings, a podcast and video footage will be available
at www.wellcome.ac.uk/climate change
The report models the effects of different policies to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in high and low-income countries. Case
studies focus on power generation, transport, household energy,
food and agriculture.
UK PRESS CONFERENCE
WHAT : A press
conference to launch “The Lancet Series on Health and Climate
Change: Public health benefits of strategies to reduce
greenhouse-gas emissions”, ahead of the Copenhagen Summit. Chaired
by Lancet Editor Dr Richard Horton, with a presentation
by Professor Sir Andrew Haines (Director, London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine) and a panel containing authors from each
paper in the Series.
WHERE : Geoffrey Rose
Room, Lower Ground Floor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT,UK.
WHEN : 12.15pm UK time,
Wednesday 25 November
(please note there will also be a US press conference, see
attached word document for details)
The press conference will last around one hour, and will be
followed at 1.30pm UK time by a presentation by UK Secretary of
State for Health Andy Burnham (in the John Snow Lecture Theatre
also at LSHTM), plus recorded messages from WHO Director-General
Margaret Chan, UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, and US Secretary
of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. The afternoon
session will be video-linked to Washington.
The full programme for the day, which also includes an opening
speech by Mike Foster, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,
Department for International Development, can be found at:
www.wellcometrustevents.org/climatechange
Journalists will be welcome in the audience for the whole day,
which, apart from the Press Conference, will take place in the
John Snow Lecture Theatre at LSHTM.
The Series has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, the
Royal College of Physicians the Economic and Social Research
Council, the Department for Health, National Institute for Health
Research, the US National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences and the Academy of Medical Sciences, with support from
WHO.
For a collection of quotes from the various funders, please see:
http://press.thelancet.com/funderquotes.doc
For more information please contact Department of Health news
desk: 020 7210 5221
Out of hours: 07050 073581
Department of Energy and Climate Change press office contact is
Sophie.knight@decc.gsi.gov.uk
/ 0300 068 5217
Contacts:
Department of Energy and Climate Change
nds.decc@coi.gsi.gov.uk