BMJ SAYS CLIMATE IS THE HEALTH ISSUE
Radical measures needed to change unsustainable and unhealthy behaviours for net zero 2050
Current commitments are unmatched by action; COP26 offers a precious opportunity to get back on track, say experts
Peer-Reviewed PublicationRapid and radical changes to systems that currently support unhealthy unsustainable behaviour are needed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, argue experts in The BMJ today.
Theresa Marteau at the University of Cambridge and colleagues say changing behaviour across populations is key to achieving net zero as technological innovation will be insufficient.
They focus on behaviour around diet and land travel, which contribute an estimated 26% and 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions, respectively.
For the public, they explain that adopting a largely plant based diet and taking most journeys using a combination of walking, cycling, and public transport would substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health.
They acknowledge that changing behaviour at scale is difficult, but say changing the physical and economic environments that drive the behaviour has the most potential to succeed.
They believe the necessary changes to diet and land travel can be achieved through policies that increase the availability and affordability of healthier and more sustainable options.
For example, promoting healthier and more sustainable foods while increasing prices of carbon intensive foods and reducing prices of foods that are less carbon intensive; creating safe and attractive cycling and walking routes; ensuring low cost public transport; and restricting availability and attractiveness of car use.
Changes need to be fair and equitable as well as effective to gain public support, they say. They also need to be driven by evidence and protected from powerful commercial interests.
“Complex coordinated behaviour can be mobilised by a shared, positive narrative, reflecting collective goals, alongside a clear vision, making vivid the many benefits of a net zero world,” they write. “The development of such a vision—both global and regional—is a priority and requires co-creation by citizens, governments, and industries, informed by scientific expertise and protected from corporate interference.”
They conclude: “With sufficient daring from the world’s governments, the flexibility, creativity, and social nature of human behaviour can achieve a just transition to net zero thereby protecting the health of current and future generations.”
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METHOD OF RESEARCH
Literature review
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Changing behaviour for net zero 2050
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
6-Oct-2021
The BMJ urges health professionals to act now on the climate emergency
Health professionals are in a unique and privileged
position to influence change
Peer-Reviewed PublicationDoctors and other health professionals must use their unique and privileged position in society to take action on the climate crisis, say The BMJ editors and environmental health experts today.
In an editorial to mark the journal’s special issue, they say time is running out to reverse, or even halt, the damage done by humanity to our planet, and they call on health professionals to act now, both individually and by holding organisations and governments to account.
“The evidence is clear: setting targets is no longer enough,” they warn. “We need to recognise and communicate the harms to health of the climate emergency, create guidance on how to adapt to the change that cannot be prevented, and prevent further damage through mitigation strategies and by motivating behaviour change.”
They acknowledge that there remains debate about the relative importance of individual behaviour and system change, but they say change is needed at both levels, and health professionals must embrace these responsibilities.
For example, as individuals they can make simple climate friendly behavioural choices regarding how they live and work, what they consume, what they eat, and how they travel. And as respected community members, health professionals can introduce the climate emergency into conversations, share knowledge, and inform debate.
Health professionals can also take the lead on making healthcare more sustainable through reducing overdiagnosis and overtreatment in healthcare, eliminating waste, streamlining services, and better managing suppliers and procurement.
And they can push the NHS and other organisations, such as medical royal colleges, the BMA, and local government, to take responsibility for reaching their targets.
Clinicians will require support to achieve this goal, they say, but doing something tangible “can give us hope and purpose, provide relief from the growing problem of climate anxiety, make us feel part of a collective whole, and help us square up to the challenge that we face.”
“The climate emergency is a multidisciplinary, multisectoral, crisis that transcends professional and organisational barriers,” they write. “Health professionals can help bring sharp focus to the urgent reforms required from individuals, organisations, and governments.”
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JOURNAL
BMJ
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Commentary/editorial
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Accelerating climate action: the role of health professionals
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
6-Oct-2021
Growing climate anxiety poses significant
threat to individuals and society
The climate crisis is taking an increasing toll on the mental health of children and young people; leaders must act now to create a path to a happier and healthier future
Peer-Reviewed PublicationLevels of eco-anxiety - the chronic fear of environmental doom - are growing, particularly among children and young people, and are likely to be significant and potentially damaging to individuals and society, warn experts in The BMJ today.
Mala Rao and Richard A Powell say neglecting the effects of increasing eco-anxiety “risks exacerbating health and social inequalities between those more or less vulnerable to these psychological impacts,” while the socioeconomic effects - as yet hidden and unquantified - “will add considerably to the national costs of addressing the climate crisis.”
And they call on leaders to “recognise the challenges ahead, the need to act now, and the commitment necessary to create a path to a happier and healthier future, leaving no one behind.”
They point to a 2020 survey of child psychiatrists in England showing that more than half (57%) are seeing children and young people distressed about the climate crisis and the state of the environment.
And a recent international survey of climate anxiety in young people aged 16 to 25 showed that the psychological (emotional, cognitive, social, and functional) burdens of climate change are “profoundly affecting huge numbers of these young people around the world.”
These findings also offer insights into how young people’s emotions are linked with their feelings of betrayal and abandonment by governments and adults, they write. Governments are seen as failing to respond adequately, leaving young people with “no future” and “humanity doomed.”
So what is to be done to alleviate the rising levels of climate anxiety, they ask?
“The best chance of increasing optimism and hope in the eco-anxious young and old is to ensure they have access to the best and most reliable information on climate mitigation and adaptation,” they explain.
“Especially important is information on how they could connect more strongly with nature, contribute to greener choices at an individual level, and join forces with like-minded communities and groups.”
They conclude: “The climate crisis is an existential threat, and fearfulness about the future cannot be fully tackled until a common united global strategy is put in place to address the root cause, global warming, and to give everyone - especially the young and the most vulnerable communities - the hope of a better future.”
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JOURNAL
BMJ
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Commentary/editorial
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Not applicable
ARTICLE TITLE
The climate crisis and the rise of eco-anxiety
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
6-Oct-2021
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