The Eco-Climatic Crisis

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has unequivocally demonstrated how human activity's greenhouse gas production since the industrial revolution is rapidly changing the climate and disrupting the planet's balance.

Climate change manifestations are numerous and alarming, with a 40% increase in global temperatures over the last 15 years. The year 2023 marked alarming records of climatic anomalies, designating July as the beginning of the global boiling era, with the global average temperature reaching 17 degrees Celsius, 1.5 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels.

Extreme weather events, such as torrential rains, cyclones, wildfires, droughts, and heatwaves, are becoming more frequent worldwide. The risk of pandemics is rising due to deforestation, intensive farming, illegal wildlife trafficking, and uncontrolled urbanization.

Many climate change effects are irreversible. Mountain and polar glaciers continue to melt, with Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets on the brink of disappearance, leading to rising sea levels. The most severe consequences can be slowed or halted by limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, requiring a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Climate Injustice

Climate change brings about significant injustices, with the most affected communities historically contributing the least to its causes. 71% of climate emergencies occur in the global South, accounting for 91% of related deaths, while being responsible for only 0.6% of global CO2 emissions. Moreover, socioeconomic consequences in these contexts erode the capacity to respond and adapt to emergencies.

Reducing climate injustice is a moral imperative requiring fundamental societal changes. Countries and populations most responsible for climate change must bear the greater costs for adaptation and mitigation initiatives. The debt imposed on Global South countries by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund must be canceled. Addressing climate change also means ensuring equity and social justice for all vulnerable communities.

 

Impact on Health

The eco-climatic crisis poses a massive threat to human health, with estimates of 250,000 deaths annually between 2030 and 2050 due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat. Ecosystem and ecological niche alterations have led to more frequent zoonotic epidemics. Compromised air quality, a significant risk factor for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, is prevalent in many regions. More frequent heatwaves cause morbidity and mortality, especially in vulnerable populations. Extreme climate events lead to humanitarian emergencies worldwide, causing direct and indirect casualties through increased poverty, food insecurity, vector-borne diseases, and diarrheal diseases. Mental health disorders related to climate change, such as eco-anxiety and solastalgia, are becoming more common.

Since human health cannot be separated from the health of other living beings and the entire planet, adopting a broader approach like that of Planetary Health is crucial. Planetary Health is a transdisciplinary field and social movement analyzing and addressing the impacts of human actions on the planet's natural systems, affecting the health of people and all forms of life. It seeks the highest health and equity standards, considering human systems (political, economic, and social) and the planet's natural systems. This concept implies the search for the highest standard of health and equity taking into account human systems (political, economic and social) and the natural systems of the planet, which also define the environmental boundaries within which we can thrive as humanity. By analyzing the multiple links between the climate crisis and human health in a transdisciplinary way, the planetary health approach seeks solutions that promote human health and prosperity alongside the integrity of natural systems. This also means pushing societies towards resource consumption reduction, ecological transition and respect for the planet.

 

The Appeal of Health Workers

In the coming years, health workers will increasingly witness the effects of rising temperatures and disruptions in natural balances in their daily medical practice. As health workers, we cannot passively ignore the dramatic developments of the climate crisis but are called to actively fight climate change and its associated injustices.

Despite evidence of the ongoing climate crisis, an adequate response to reduce the human impact on the planet is not forthcoming. Since 1988, a hundred fossil fuel industries have contributed 71% of greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these multinationals were aware of the impact of their activities since the early 1970s but concealed this information to maintain profits. Governments, through subsidies and policies favoring fossil fuels, contribute to the crisis, contradicting climate commitments to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase.

As Doctors4Future, we believe that countering the effects of the eco-climatic crisis requires systemic action on the production model. We can no longer limit ourselves to individual choices nor tolerate misinformation campaigns and empty promises from an economic system sacrificing the planet for profit. We must adopt sustainable lifestyles collectively and demand urgent structural interventions to build a society and development model aimed at safeguarding the planet and its natural systems. We must insist that protecting the planet, an indispensable prerequisite for people's health and social justice, becomes a priority within societies and economies.

As health workers, we strongly support and commit to promoting a model of a just, fair society founded on the health of the ecosystem and of all people.

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Who We Are

Doctors4Future is a campaign promoted by the association "Chi si cura di te?" composed of young doctors, residents and general practice trainees. We believe that each of us must play our part in the fight for climate justice, for a world where the health of people and of the planet is a priority. Our activities span various fronts, including awareness initiatives on eco-climatic crisis issues, particularly those related to health and social injustices. We conduct training activities in schools and universities to inform new generations. We provide medical support to climate activists during their climate action initiatives and actively participate in demonstrations and events related to planetary health and climate justice.

 

Join us

To participate in the Doctors4Future campaign, fill out the membership form, and leave your contact information. We will contact you as soon as possible to involve you in upcoming initiatives. If you want to join on behalf of an association, send us an email at doctors4future@chisicuradite.it with the association's name and contact information (phone or email address).

 

 

References

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4. July 2023: Global air and ocean temperatures reach new record highs. Copernicus Climate Change Service. 2023. Available from: climate.copernicus.eu/july-2023-global-air-and-ocean-temperatures-reach-new-record-highs

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9. Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water-related hazards. World Meteorological Organization. 2023. Available from: public.wmo.int/en/resources/atlas-of-mortality

10. Ritchie H. Global inequalities in CO2 emissions. Our World in Data. 2023. Available from: ourworldindata.org/inequality-co2

11. Volz U, Berensmann K, Burke S, Gallagher KP, Griffith-Jones S, Kessler M, et al. Addressing the Debt Crisis in the Global South: Debt Relief for Sustainable Recoveries. 2022. Available from: eprints.soas.ac.uk/39280/

12. Climate change. World Health Organization. 2023. Available from: who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health

13. Planetary Health. Planetary Health Alliance. 2023. Available from: https://www.planetaryhealthalliance.org/planetary-health

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