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© 2021. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

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 that will be impossible to reverse. 2 , 3 Despite the world’s necessary preoccupation with covid-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions. 4 Higher temperatures have brought increased dehydration and renal function loss, dermatological malignancies, tropical infections, adverse mental health outcomes, pregnancy complications, allergies, and cardiovascular and 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. Emissions reduction plans do not adequately incorporate health considerations. 12 Concern is growing that temperature rises above 1.5°C are beginning to be seen as inevitable, or even acceptable, to powerful members of the global community. 13 Relatedly, current strategies for reducing emissions to net zero by the middle of the century implausibly assume that the world will acquire great capabilities to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. 14 , 15 This insufficient action means that temperature increases are likely to be well in excess of 2°C, 16 a catastrophic outcome for health and environmental stability. Better air quality alone would realise health benefits that easily offset the global costs of emissions reductions. 22 These measures will also improve the social and economic determinants of health, the poor state of which may have made populations more vulnerable to the covid-19 pandemic. 23 But the changes cannot be achieved through a return to damaging austerity policies or the continuation of the large inequalities of wealth and power within and between countries.

Details

Title
Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health
Author
Atwoli, Lukoye  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Baqui, Abdullah H  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Benfield, Thomas  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Bosurgi, Raffaella  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Godlee, Fiona  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hancocks, Stephen  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Horton, Richard  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Laybourn-Langton, Laurie  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Monteiro, Carlos Augusto  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Norman, Ian  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Patrick, Kirsten  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Praities, Nigel  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rikkert, Marcel G.M. Olde  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rubin, Eric J  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sahni, Peush  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Smith, Richard  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Talley, Nicholas J  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Turale, Sue  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Vázquez, Damián  VIAFID ORCID Logo 
Section
Editorial
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
ISSN
22252002
e-ISSN
22252010
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2582687036
Copyright
© 2021. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.