It’s Time for Doctors to Speak Out on Climate Change

Abstract

There is no doubt now. Climate change is the biggest threat to human health this century (1). Initially it is the poor who are suffering most, but even wealthy nations are not escaping the consequences. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the weather we experience, and even the depth and acidity of the oceans are changing.  Climate change is increasing the incidence of weather-related disasters and acting as an amplifier for many diseases. Action to reduce anthropogenic green house gases (GHG) is urgent, especially because the full effects of the present levels have yet to work their way fully through the global system. Even if we reduce GHG levels now we will still experience considerable global temperature rises,  but if we fail to act then we face global climatic catastrophe. Carbon dioxide is the most important green house gas and latest figures from the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii (2) confirm that the global CO₂ level continues its inexorable rise.