Climate Change Poses Threats to Children’s Health Worldwide

The health effects of climate change will be unevenly distributed and children will be among those especially harmed, according to a new report from the medical journal The Lancet.

Children in Hilltop Park in Los Angeles this summer. 

The report compared human health consequences under two scenarios: one in which the world meets the commitments laid out in the Paris Agreement and reins in emissions so that increases in global temperatures remain “well below 2 degrees Celsius” by the end of the century, and one in which it does not.

The report, published Wednesday, found that failing to limit emissions would lead to health problems caused by infectious diseases, worsening air pollution, rising temperatures and malnutrition.

“With every degree of warming, a child born today faces a future where their health and well-being will be increasingly impacted by the realities and dangers of a warmer world,” said Dr. Renee N. Salas, a clinical instructor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the United States policy brief that accompanied the report.

Read the story from The New York Times by Kendra Pierre-Louis - “Climate Change Poses Threats to Children’s Health Worldwide.”

Medibank to dump holdings in fossil fuels over climate change health fears

Medibank, one of Australia's biggest health insurers, has announced it will dump its holdings in fossil fuel companies amid concern over the health effects of climate change.

Medibank chairwoman Elizabeth Alexander. 

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Monday morning, Medibank said it would transition to low-carbon investments in its international portfolio within the next year, to reflect the global transition to clean energy.

"We are also committed to exploring a similar approach with our domestic equity portfolio, and so we will be actively encouraging fund managers to develop a suitable product for us that is socially responsible, cost-effective and delivers a sustainable investment return," the statement said.

The announcement by chairwoman Elizabeth Alexander preceded the company's annual general meeting in Melbourne on Monday.

Read Nicole Hasham’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Medibank to dump holdings in fossil fuels over climate change health fears.”

AMA ramps up pressure for government to act on climate change

T

he powerful doctors lobby group is set to ramp up pressure on the federal government to take action on climate change.

Australian Medical Association vice president Stephen Parnis says a working group has been established to revamp the group's climate policy before the UN climate change conference in Paris this year.

"We would like Australia's targets and priorities to be informed by AMA policy and influenced by AMA advocacy," he told doctors at the AMA's national conference in Brisbane on Sunday.

Dr Parnis called for doctors to take a more active role in mitigating climate change, with the negative health effects already becoming apparent and putting additional strain on the health system.

He said heatwaves in Victoria last summer produced a dramatic increase in visits to emergency departments.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald story - “Doctors union mounts push for government action to tackle climate change”.