The danger and cost of climate change to the health of Europeans is at the forefront of the debate as the fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health begins today in Parma, Italy.
The conference, organised by the World Health Organisation, will include representatives from across Europe and is an important forum on how to tackle cross-cutting environment and health issues such as climate change.
Minister for Public Health, Gillian Merron said:
“This conference will highlight the risk global warming poses to the health of our communities”.
“Moves to improve public health can help tackle climate change. The Government’s Change4Life movement, which is focused on fighting obesity, also improves the environment by encouraging people to walk and cycle more.
“There is already good work going on but more needs to be done”.
The significant risks to human health in the UK from unmitigated climate change are clear:
· heatwaves will result in an increase in heat-related deaths (over 35,000 excess deaths were reported from 12 European countries in the 2003 heatwave);
· increased coastal and river flooding will have major impacts on health – as well as threats to physical health, flood victims can also experience significant mental health problems as a result of personal and economic loss and stress; and
· episodic higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, caused by air pollution and often associated with heatwaves, could lead to an increase in respiratory problems and incidence of allergies.
The impact of climate change on health will be felt around the world. The densely populated coastal areas of the world are at risk from rising sea-levels, whilst malnutrition in arid areas may be exacerbated by drought.
However, many measures to combat climate change also bring benefits to health:
· reducing motor vehicle use cuts carbon dioxide emissions, which helps mitigate global warming, and also reduces respiratory problems caused by particulate pollution;
· more walking and cycling brings substantial health benefits including reduced cardiovascular disease and reduced dementia;
improved housing insulation will reduce deaths from both extreme cold and heat;
in poorer countries, a reduced need to burn solid fuel indoors could have a significant impact on child and maternal health by cutting air pollution.
The UK is committed to tackling the effects of climate change. The health impacts of climate change, both in the UK and around the world, are an increasingly important justification for ambitious and urgent global action on climate change.
