Climate
Change
Crisis
Climate change is a major risk to our healthcare system. The RACP has been an outspoken advocate for climate action, and with the calamitous effects of climate change beginning to be even more apparent, we must do more to stop it from wreaking further havoc.
In 2019, the Black Summer bushfires scorched over 5.5 million hectares of Australia’s eastern states, marking our worst bushfire season in history. Towns and cities were choked by smoke for weeks, and even today, rebuilding efforts are ongoing in the worst-affected areas.
In 2022, we are facing yet another climate catastrophe with the devastating floods that have inundated Queensland and New South Wales multiple times since March.
These are not just one-off freak weather events. They represent exactly what science has been predicting for over a decade – a climate crisis.
These are not just one-off freak weather events. This is exactly what science has been predicting for over a decade. This is the climate crisis.
Climate change is a major risk to our healthcare system. The RACP has been an outspoken advocate for climate action, and with the calamitous effects of climate change beginning to rear its head, we must do more to stop it from wreaking further havoc.
So, are we prepared for the increasing impact climate change will have on our health?
According to the RACP Climate Change and Australia’s Healthcare Systems report, Australia’s healthcare system is not prepared for climate-related health impacts.
Recommendations from the Climate Change and Australia’s Healthcare Systems report:
- Implement and coordinate a national strategy on climate change and health
- Commit to delivering net zero healthcare by 2040
- Invest in climate health vulnerability and capacity assessments with a focus on locally-led planning
- Establish a dedicated climate health resilience research fund to support innovation and evidence-based action
- Embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and leadership in all climate health policy and action
- Invest in prevention and early intervention as a key element of climate health action.
Riverstone GP and Chair of Doctors For The Environment Australia (NSW) Dr Kim Loo told SBS News what climate-related health issues will look like for patients who experience some of the worst heatwaves during Summer – and these will only getting worse.
"During the Black Summer, my patients were subjected to 80 days of smoke and heatwaves - at the same time.
“I've got patients who live on their own - they're socially isolated - and there’s a big risk of them getting really sick and dying during heatwaves," Dr Loo told SBS News.
During former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's attendance at COP26, the RACP published a media statement urging him to commit to a real, actionable, and ambitious climate policy.
Then, in March, the RACP wrote an open letter, signed by nine other medical colleges, and representing over 100,000 physicians and other health professionals, calling for a climate ready and climate-friendly healthcare system.
The open letter was part of a call for the major parties to commit to stronger climate action in the lead up to the Federal Election.
We called on all of Australia’s leaders to commit to ensuring our healthcare system is:
Climate ready
1. Create and fund a National Climate Change and Health Strategy that will enable our healthcare system to build climate resilience, including:
a) development of climate risk and vulnerability assessments and locally led disaster planning for the healthcare system; acknowledging that rural and remote communities are at particular risk;
b) adaptation and resilience plans which acknowledge, support, and are guided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership;
c) equipping health and medical professionals with information, tools, and resources to support them to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate risks;
d) establishment of a surge health and medical workforce for deployment in response to extreme weather events;
e) being informed by the experience of COVID-19 and the limitations and vulnerabilities of the health system to significant shocks.
2. Create and fund a National Climate Change and Health Sustainability Unit to oversee the implementation of the Strategy.
3. Invest in a national Climate Change and Health Resilience Research Fund to identify resilience strategies suited to our health system.
Climate friendly
1. Establish a Climate Friendly Health System Innovation Fund to provide grants to local health services for emissions reduction and sustainability initiatives.
2. Include a plan for equitably decarbonising healthcare, to achieve net zero emissions in healthcare by 2040 in a funded National Climate Change and Health Strategy.
Time is running out and collaboration is key to making giant steps forward before irreversible climate change takes hold. But there are things we can do now as physicians and health professionals to mitigate the effects of climate on our health, such as lowering the carbon footprint of the medical sector and transitioning to sustainable methods of healthcare.
Climate activist Anjali Sharma pinpointed that action, not just words, is vital during her presentation at the 2022 RACP Congress.
“I want to feel a sense of safety, a sense of hope, a sense of harmony, when I think about my future,” Anjali said.
“I want more than just empty words and promises, and I want our government to make decisions on climate as they’ll have to live with the impacts for decades to come.”
The RACP will continue to advocate for more action on climate change, through the Healthy Climate Future Campaign.
Email: Policy@racp.edu.au if you have questions or ideas about the campaign.