Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much faster
INTRODUCTION The UN General Assembly in September 2021 will bring countries together at a critical time for marshalling collective action to tackle the global environmental crisis. They will meet again at the biodiversity summit in Kunming, China and the climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, UK. A...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Makhdoomi Printers
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://nicpd.ac.in/ojs-/index.php/gjmedph/article/view/3744 |
| _version_ | 1797299493345951744 |
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| author | Lukoye Atwoli Abdullah H. Baqui Thomas Benfield Raffaella Bosurgi Fiona Godlee Stephen Hancocks Richard Horton Laurie Laybourn Langton Carlos Augusto Monteiro Ian Norman Kirsten Patrick Nigel Praities Marcel GM Olde Rikkert Eric J. Rubin Peush Sahni Richard Smith Nick Talley Sue Turale Damián Vázquez |
| author_facet | Lukoye Atwoli Abdullah H. Baqui Thomas Benfield Raffaella Bosurgi Fiona Godlee Stephen Hancocks Richard Horton Laurie Laybourn Langton Carlos Augusto Monteiro Ian Norman Kirsten Patrick Nigel Praities Marcel GM Olde Rikkert Eric J. Rubin Peush Sahni Richard Smith Nick Talley Sue Turale Damián Vázquez |
| author_sort | Lukoye Atwoli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
INTRODUCTION
The UN General Assembly in September 2021 will bring countries together at a critical time for marshalling collective action to tackle the global environmental crisis. They will meet again at the biodiversity summit in Kunming, China and the climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, UK. Ahead of these pivotal meetings, we – the editors of health journals worldwide – call for urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5°C, halt the destruction of nature, and protect health.
Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world, a state of affairs health professionals have been bringing attention to for decades.1 The science is unequivocal; a global increase of 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average and the continued loss of biodiversity risk catastrophic harm to health pulmonary morbidity and mortality.5,6 Harms disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including among children, older populations, ethnic minorities, poorer communities and those with underlying health problems.2,4
Global heating is also contributing to the decline in global yield potential for major crops, falling by 1.8-5.6% since 1981; this, together with the effects of extreme weather and soil depletion, is hampering efforts to reduce undernutrition.4 Thriving ecosystems are essential to human health, and the widespread destruction of nature, including habitats and species, is eroding water and food security and increasing the chance of pandemics.3,7,8
The consequences of the environmental crisis fall disproportionately on those countries and communities that have contributed least to the problem and are least able to mitigate the harms. Yet no country, no matter how wealthy, can shield itself from these impacts. Allowing the consequences to fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable will breed more conflict, food insecurity, forced displacement and zoonotic disease – with severe implications for all countries and communities. As with the covid-19 pandemic, we are globally as strong as our weakest member. Rises above 1.5°C increase the chance of reaching tipping points in natural systems that could lock the world into an acutely unstable state. This would critically impair our ability to mitigate harms and to prevent catastrophic, runaway environmental change.9,10
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:51:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6b5c329f32214e0e87e8901b20b39e42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2277-9604 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:51:26Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Makhdoomi Printers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-6b5c329f32214e0e87e8901b20b39e422024-02-23T10:11:08ZengMakhdoomi PrintersGlobal Journal of Medicine and Public Health2277-96042024-02-01101Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much fasterLukoye Atwoli0Abdullah H. Baqui1Thomas Benfield2Raffaella Bosurgi3Fiona Godlee4Stephen Hancocks5Richard Horton6Laurie Laybourn Langton7Carlos Augusto Monteiro8Ian Norman9Kirsten Patrick10Nigel Praities11Marcel GM Olde Rikkert12Eric J. Rubin13Peush Sahni14Richard Smith15Nick Talley16Sue Turale17Damián Vázquez18Editor in Chief, East African Medical JournalEditor in Chief, Journal of Health, Population and NutritionEditor in Chief, Danish Medical JournalEditor in Chief, PLOS MedicineEditor in Chief, The BMJEditor in Chief, British Dental JournalEditor in Chief, The LancetSenior Adviser, UK Health Alliance on Climate ChangeEditor in Chief, Revista de Saúde PúblicaEditor in Chief, International Journal of Nursing StudiesInterim Editor in Chief, CMAJExecutive Editor, Pharmaceutical JournalEditor in Chief, Dutch Journal of MedicineEditor in Chief, NEJMEditor in Chief, National Medical Journal of IndiaChair, UK Health Alliance on Climate ChangeEditor in Chief, Medical Journal of AustraliaEditor in Chief, International Nursing ReviewEditor in Chief, Pan American Journal of Public Health INTRODUCTION The UN General Assembly in September 2021 will bring countries together at a critical time for marshalling collective action to tackle the global environmental crisis. They will meet again at the biodiversity summit in Kunming, China and the climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, UK. Ahead of these pivotal meetings, we – the editors of health journals worldwide – call for urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5°C, halt the destruction of nature, and protect health. Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world, a state of affairs health professionals have been bringing attention to for decades.1 The science is unequivocal; a global increase of 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average and the continued loss of biodiversity risk catastrophic harm to health pulmonary morbidity and mortality.5,6 Harms disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including among children, older populations, ethnic minorities, poorer communities and those with underlying health problems.2,4 Global heating is also contributing to the decline in global yield potential for major crops, falling by 1.8-5.6% since 1981; this, together with the effects of extreme weather and soil depletion, is hampering efforts to reduce undernutrition.4 Thriving ecosystems are essential to human health, and the widespread destruction of nature, including habitats and species, is eroding water and food security and increasing the chance of pandemics.3,7,8 The consequences of the environmental crisis fall disproportionately on those countries and communities that have contributed least to the problem and are least able to mitigate the harms. Yet no country, no matter how wealthy, can shield itself from these impacts. Allowing the consequences to fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable will breed more conflict, food insecurity, forced displacement and zoonotic disease – with severe implications for all countries and communities. As with the covid-19 pandemic, we are globally as strong as our weakest member. Rises above 1.5°C increase the chance of reaching tipping points in natural systems that could lock the world into an acutely unstable state. This would critically impair our ability to mitigate harms and to prevent catastrophic, runaway environmental change.9,10 https://nicpd.ac.in/ojs-/index.php/gjmedph/article/view/3744wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| spellingShingle | Lukoye Atwoli Abdullah H. Baqui Thomas Benfield Raffaella Bosurgi Fiona Godlee Stephen Hancocks Richard Horton Laurie Laybourn Langton Carlos Augusto Monteiro Ian Norman Kirsten Patrick Nigel Praities Marcel GM Olde Rikkert Eric J. Rubin Peush Sahni Richard Smith Nick Talley Sue Turale Damián Vázquez Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much faster Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| title | Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| title_full | Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| title_fullStr | Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| title_full_unstemmed | Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| title_short | Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase, restore biodiversity and protect health: wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| title_sort | call for emergency action to limit global temperature increase restore biodiversity and protect health wealthy nations must do more much faster |
| topic | wealthy nations must do more, much faster |
| url | https://nicpd.ac.in/ojs-/index.php/gjmedph/article/view/3744 |
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