Climate Action
Climate Action
Scientific evidence for the warming of the climate is unequivocal and there is broad recognition that human activities are the primary driver (IPCC). The climate crisis poses an existential threat to the planet's biodiversity and ecosystems, and is a direct threat to human health and security, food and water supply, livelihoods and economic growth.
The good news is that there is a wide range of solutions -- developed by social entrepreneurs, local grassroots leaders, scientists, health care leaders, policymakers and many others -- that can reduce the most severe impacts of climate change and help people and economies adapt and thrive. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, this pivotal moment presents a unique opportunity for a profound, systemic shift to more sustainable economies around the world that work for both people and the planet. A few resources for climate-positive actions in the wake of Covid-19 are listed below.
"We’re experiencing the climate and health emergencies as one and the same, including increases in respiratory illness from fossil fuel pollution and those caused by dire climate impacts such as wildfires. Health care bears the brunt of these two crises while also, ironically contributing to them through its own emissions. It’s imperative for health leaders to lead by example and act now to reach zero emissions by 2050. The Road Map charts a course in that direction."
-Josh Karliner, Health Care Without Harm,
co-author of A Road Map for Health Care Decarbonization
Resources
- U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action
- Six Climate-Positive Actions to Help Rebuild from the Covid-19 Pandemic
- Climate Change Evidence and Facts: Vital Signs of the Planet - NASA
- Climate Change and Human Health - National Academy of Medicine
- Climate, Kids, and Health – C-CHANGE | Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- Project Drawdown
- Global Road Map for Health Care Decarbonization