The Health Impacts Of Climate Change Are Huge And Very Real

Huffington Post - Josh Butler

Health leaders implore government to do more, from a public health standpoint.

A woman in Les Cayes, Haiti, following the passage of Hurricane Matthew. AFP/Getty Images

Think of climate change, you probably think of melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, crazy weather and environmental havoc. While the health of Planet Earth is usually the biggest factor, it's not often that the health of the human race enters significantly into the discussion.

A roundtable forum of public health leaders in Canberra hopes to change that, and to place health at the forefront of Australia's action on climate change.
The Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), along with a number of healthcare and nursing groups, hosted the meeting of around 40 professionals in Parliament House. Assistant Health Minister Ken Wyatt, Shadow Health Minister, Catherine King, and Greens leader Richard Di Natale attended, hearing about how climate change is a "public health emergency", according to CAHA executive director Fiona Armstrong.
"There has been advocacy on climate change over several years, but we're concerned that as the issue becomes more urgent, there has been a failure to reflect the concerns of the health sector in climate policy decisions," she told The Huffington Post Australia.
"The health sector is committed to a public policy response. We'd like to work with the government to get a solution, beginning a discussion about what a public health framework would like."
Armstrong said climate change was about more than rising sea levels, that there are obvious -- and less obvious -- health implications. Continuing to burn fossil fuels for energy causes air pollution, leading to asthma and other respiratory problems; that's a clear one. Heatwaves leading to heat stroke, exhaustion and heat stress are another. However, wild and rapidly changing weather events can wreak massive devastation and cause huge health issues, such as Hurricane Matthew in Haiti and Florida just this week where more than 1000 were reported dead.
"Health impacts of climate change are very diverse. There are direct impacts and then the less direct, but it is is being described as the greatest threat to public health," Armstrong said.
"It's being emphasised by the World Health Organisation, and we're urging all governments to take action on climate change. To be frank, its a public health emergency."

People stand next to their destroyed house in Les Cayes, Haiti following Hurricane Matthew. Haiti faces a humanitarian crisis that requires a 'massive response' from the international community, the United Nations said , with at least 1.4 million people needing emergency aid. AFP/Getty Images

A recent report by CAHA found that Australia's health community thought the country was underprepared for the challenge of climate change-related health issues. It found that 52 percent of health professionals considered the government's direct action plan 'not at all effective'; 78 percent thought Australia's climate policies were not consistent with our international obligations, including the Paris Agreement; and that 98 percent agreed Australia needed to develop a national strategy on climate, health and well-being. Read the full report here.
Armstrong said the politicians attending the meeting had seemed receptive and eager to learn about the intersection of climate and health, and how to prepare Australia's health sector for the incoming climate-related issues. She added, however, that urgent action to lower emissions was the most important immediate priority.
"Mitigation is a top-line issue. Unless we're mitigating then we're not addressing the cause of the problem. Emissions reductions targets must be consistent with the science. Australia needs to accept its fair share of the responsibility, to be a good global citizen, and not be consuming the emissions budgets of developing nations who are using a range of energy systems to lift their populations out of poverty," Armstrong said.
"As a wealthy nation we've emitted our fair share in the past. We have the wealth to get our way to a zero emissions society."
"The health sector is already under considerable pressure. Climate change amplifies every risk factor there is, in every sector. Unless health sector is assisted to develop its climate responsiveness, it may become overwhelmed and unable to respond."

Links

• Climate & Health Alliance
• Hurricane Matthew Death Toll Tops 1,000 In Haiti
• Australia | Healthcare professionals concerned about climate impacts, says survey
• Medical Staff In Dark About Policies To Mitigate Health Risks Of Climate Change, Study Says
• Lethal Heating: Seven Ways Climate Change Affects Our Health
• Climate Change Health Risks Will Hit The Poor Hardest – So What Can Be Done?

Adani Coal Mine Gains 'Critical' Status As Queensland Government Moves To Kick-Start Project

ABC News

The mine, rail line and water infrastructure have been deemed critical infrastructure. (Source: adanimining.com)

Key points: Queensland Government wants project to go ahead: Development Minister Adani mine, rail and water infrastructure all deemed "critical" More legal obstacles still possible, Resources Council warns

The State Government has declared Adani's Carmichael coal mine project in western Queensland to be "critical infrastructure" in a bid to fast-track its remaining approvals.
In a move branded reckless by the Australian Greens, State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the Government had invoked special powers to help progress Adani's $21 billion Carmichael coal and rail project in the Galilee Basin.
Dr Lynham said the move would mean less red tape for the project and the Coordinator General can sign off on approvals quickly.
He said the project's special "prescribed project" status had been renewed and expanded to include its water infrastructure.
"This step bundles together major elements of the project for the first time — the mine, the 389-kilometre rail line, and the water infrastructure, including a pipeline, pumping stations and a dam upgrade," he said.
"This Government is serious about having the Adani mine in operation, we want this to happen."
Dr Lynham said water licences were the only outstanding state approvals for the project.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters said the Government's move was reckless and short-sighted when they should be focusing on renewable energy projects for job creation.
"Instead, they're prioritising a coal mine owned by an overseas company, that won't pay any tax in Australia, that will generate a fraction of the jobs that it originally claimed, and it will threaten the Great Barrier Reef and the jobs it provides," she said.
Dr Lynham said when the Palaszczuk Government came to power in early 2015 there was a long way to go with the approvals Adani needed to start construction.
"Since then, 22 key Commonwealth, state and local government approvals have been granted for Adani's mine, rail and port facilities and there have been 29 key milestones reached," he said.

"Adani has now obtained all the necessary primary approvals for its mine, rail and port project - and most importantly, I have granted the mining leases."

Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche described the move as a step forward but said new water license laws introduced to Parliament could lead to more legal obstacles.
"Getting that water licence could open up Adani to more court action, more appeals in the land court and other courts," Mr Roche said.
Dr Lynham said the progress on the project had been achieved while protecting the Great Barrier Reef and meeting Queensland and Commonwealth environmental impact assessment requirements.

Links

• Indigenous challenge to Adani Carmichael coal mine dismissed
• Conservation Foundation's case against Adani mine dismissed
• Adani must prove financial viabiltiy for Carmichael mine: Minister
• Adani mega mine fast-tracked
• Carmichael mine to be given 'essential' status in sign of Palaszczuk support
• Adani mine: Will controversial mine's hurdles ever be cleared?

Turnbull’s Misgivings On Renewables Overlook Economic And Financial Realities

The Conversation - Thomas Clarke

Solar power generation is experiencing rapid growth. Alexandra Wey/EPA/AAP

The key breakthrough in the COAG Energy Council meeting last week was the recognition of the need to integrate climate policy and energy policy.
This has the potential to establish a coherent national energy policy for Australia and to fix on firm national targets on emissions reductions to meet Australia’s commitments to the Paris climate change agreement.
The independent panel chaired by chief scientist Alan Finkel will begin this work with a plan to ensure security of energy supply as more renewable energy comes into the grid, and more coal fired power stations close.
Despite Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s misgivings about the “aggressive” renewable energy targets of South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, renewable energy could be considered a central part of his innovation “ideas boom”.
As former US Vice President Al Gore has said, the US$391 billion invested in 2014 in clean energy and low carbon development makes it “the biggest new business opportunity in the history of the world”.

Why the urgency on the switch to renewable energy?
Economist Nicholas Stern has called climate change “the greatest market failure the world has ever seen”. He insists the choice we face is taking mitigation action now, or very expensive adaptation in the future. Stern says “there is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong action now”.
In the same vein in a speech to Lloyds insurers, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who is also Chairman of the Financial Stability Board, said while a classical problem of environmental economics is the “tragedy of the commons”, climate change is a “tragedy of the horizon”. This is because the catastrophic impact of climate change is beyond the traditional horizon of most people. It is imposed as a cost on future generations as the current generations has little direct incentive to fix this.
As the critical dilemma of our time climate change is now considered worthy of concern by the G20 finance ministers. They asked the Financial Stability Board to consider the risks climate change poses for the financial system.
In 2015 the FSB launched the task force on Climate Related Disclosure (TFDC) applying to financial and non-financial companies, chaired by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Mark Carney identifies three channels through which climate change can impact on financial stability:

Physical risks: the impact today on insurance liabilities and the value of financial assets arising from climate-related events such as floods and storms that damage property and disrupt trade.

Liability risks: the impacts that could arise if parties suffering loss or damage from the effects of climate change seek compensation from those they hold responsible. These claims could come decades into the future, but could potentially hit carbon resources companies and emitters hard, and if they have liability cover would hit their insurers the hardest.

Transition risks: the financial risks resulting from the process of adjusting towards a low carbon economy as changes in policy, technology, and physical risks prompt a reassessment of the value of a large range of assets as costs and opportunities become apparent.

If renewable energy is our future, then all that’s left to discuss is the transition. Nic Bothma/EPA/AAP 

CarbonTracker

A US$28 trillion carbon bubble?
Aside from the risk to financial stability, there’s also a threat inherent in the way economies are dealing with carbon emissions.
A terrifying thought is that we have created a carbon bubble in financial markets as large and threatening as the toxic securities that delivered the global financial crisis.
CarbonTracker calculates the bubble of unusable carbon assets, using research by the Potsdam Institute. It suggests that to reduce the chance of exceeding 2°C warming to 20%, the global carbon budget for 2000-2050 is 886 billion tonnes of CO₂.
With the emissions that have already occurred since 2000 this leaves a carbon budget until 2050 of 565 billion tonnes of CO₂. However the total carbon potential of the earth’s known fossil fuel reserves of 2,795 billion tonnes of CO₂ exceeds the carbon budget by five times (65% from coal, 22% from oil, and 13% from gas).
According to CarbonTracker: “This means that governments and global financial markets are currently treating as assets, reserves equivalent to nearly 5 times the carbon budget for the next 40 years. The investment consequences of using only 20% of these reserves have not yet been assessed.”
Judged by their recent investment activity in carbon relative to renewable energy (see chart below) it is possible the Australian banks have not yet quite realised the scale of the challenge confronting them in withdrawing from carbon investments.

Big four bank investment in fossil fuels and renewables (A$)

Source: Market Forces Get the data

A brighter future?
The combination of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the prospect of tens of trillions in stranded assets in fossil fuels, is a heady mix for business which might occasion some real traction in the drive for sustainability.
In 2003 just 253 companies reported their greenhouse gas emissions, water management and climate change strategies to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). In 2014 it was 5,003. Companies including Bank of Montreal, Google, Microsoft and Marks and Spencer are now disclosing and some are pursuing zero emissions into their value chain.
The shift to renewable energy is advancing globally. As Clean Energy Council chairman Miles George puts it:

You can follow the money. In 2015 US$286 billion (A$380 billion) was invested in renewable energy worldwide, compared to only US$130 billion in fossil fuel generation. For the first time more than half of all new electricity generation investment is in renewable energy. Global forces at play now mean that renewable energy is our future, and all that’s left to debate is the rate of transition.

Google alone is committed to purchasing 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy – making it the largest non-utility purchaser of renewable energy in the world. It is also investing in nearly US$2.5 billion in renewable energy projects, producing enough electricity to power more than one million US homes. Not to be outdone, Amazon is building a huge wind farm in Texas.
Wind energy is now experiencing exponential growth in production and sales. Solar energy is exceeding it with 68 times the projected output of solar predicted ten years ago.
We are on the cusp of a revolutionary global paradigm shift towards renewable energy, one that Malcolm Turnbull will find it difficult to ignore.

Links

• Our carbon black hole - the real budget shortfall
• Why the renewable target should be ramped up, not cut
• Risky business: how companies are getting smart about climate change
• Australia is losing ground as the climate policy race gains pace