Several medical journals have reportedly come together to urge health professionals the world over to put health at the heart of climate change negotiations.
A recent editorial published simultaneously in the BMJ, the Lancet and the Finnish Medical Journal has warned that the links between climate policy and health policy must not be ignored. The editorial has been made available for publication in all peer reviewed medical journals worldwide through the World Association of Medical Editors.
Written by Robin Stott and Ian Roberts on behalf of the Climate and Health Council, the editorial calls on health professionals worldwide, to help tackle the health effects of climate change.
Later this month, representatives from countries across the globe will meet at the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference in Mexico. Stott and Roberts argue that if the delegates at this conference think that obesity and climate change are unrelated, they would be wrong. The planet is getting hotter, its people are getting fatter, and the use of fossil fuel energy is the cause of both. Further, they argue that moving to a low carbon economy could be the next great public health advance.
They are also urging health professionals to commit to action by signing the Climate and Health Council pledge (www.climateandhealth.org/pledge), and by contacting their health minister to ensure that the links between climate policy and health policy are known and fully taken into account in all climate change negotiations.
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