02/08/2018

Adapt Or Perish: UK Leads The Way In Protecting Citizens Against Climate Change

ABC - Dr David Shearman*

To the World Health Organisation, climate change is the greatest health threat of this century. (Reuters: Liu Chang)
Despite the distraction and political chaos of Brexit negotiations, the United Kingdom has just published a far-reaching and thoroughly impressive plan to manage risks from climate change.
This follows on from their broader 25-year Environment Plan, released in January. It aims to "help the natural world regain and retain good health", to enable it to better cope with climate change.
The recently released climate plan is a strategy to save lives from heat, flood and fire — yes, fire, even in the UK!
It should be compulsory reading for the Australian Government, because we have no such plan. Considering the lives that will be lost, this is negligence in medical terms.
And as a doctor, it concerns me greatly: all doctors recognise the vital need for adaptation to manage the growing health risks of climate change.

Be prepared for the heat
Heatwaves kill far more people than other natural disasters. ABC Emergency has a checklist of things you can do to be ready.
'We've stood still for 20 years'
Global efforts to mitigate climate change are tokenistic given the size of the problem. Fossil fuels continue to burn our future; in Australia, over 80 per cent of electricity comes from fossil fuel.
"Despite the extraordinary growth in renewables in recent years," writes BP's chief economist Spencer Dale, "there has been almost no improvement in the power sector fuel mix over the past 20 years.
"The share of coal in 1998 was 38 per cent — exactly the same as in 2017. We have stood still for 20 years."
The UK has got the message that current emission reduction efforts are inadequate to prevent coming disasters and priority must be given to protecting the public. They recognise that human health depends on environmental health.

What's the UK doing?
The UK's 2008 Climate Change Act obliges the government to have policies to adapt to climate change.
The Government must publish a climate change risk assessment every five years, based on scientific information from the Climate Change Committee. This assesses the risks for flooding, heat, drought, food, pests and natural capital risks. For example, 7,000 heat-related deaths are expected every year in the UK by 2050 — triple the current rate.
The climate change adaptation plan anticipates water shortages for agriculture, energy generation and industry. In response, it plans to increase water supply and drive greater water efficiency.
The climate adaptation plan also highlights strategies already underway in public services.
The NHS, for example, plans to embed adaptation into daily practice by 2023.
The forgotten islands
The Takuu group of atolls is home to a rich and historic culture, but the resilient people and their idyllic islands face an increasingly dire threat from climate change.
The Australian plan?
There is no Australian Government adaptation plan to address the health impacts of climate change.
Instead, there are different responses by state and territories public health authorities, which are mostly inadequate.
Non-Government organisations such as the Climate and Health Alliance have detailed what federal and other governments must consider when they decide to act.
There is no national leadership on this issue. Leaders must be able to explain vital policy and carry people with them. This means explaining to Australians the threats to their life-support systems —stable climate, water, biodiversity and productive land.
Were any of these words mentioned by our leaders in the five recent by-elections?
Climate change threatens our existence — the best thing politicians can do now is to listen to those with science, technology and health expertise. 
'Science can't provide moral energy'
Hear on Science Friction why Mike Hulme thinks only the human imagination will help us now when it comes to the climate.
Why we need new laws
A "new generation" of environmental laws is needed to protect the Australian public. The Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law has drafted eight sets of recommendations to reform Australia's environmental laws.
These reforms would establish two independent bodies:
  • A National Sustainability Commission to set national environmental standards, undertake strategic regional planning and report on national environmental performance
  • A National Environmental Protection Authority to conduct transparent environmental assessments and inquiries, plus monitoring, compliance and enforcement activities
The new laws would replace the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act which is inadequate to protect biodiversity and ecological communities.
These reformed laws would inform effective policy on climate adaptation that protects human health. They could also support many other complex problems subject to political paralysis, such as the Murray Darling Basin water-plan and the national regulation of tree clearing.
New environmental laws and a climate change adaptation plan are vital to this nation's security, health, economy and environment, and so to our future.

*Dr David Shearman is the honorary secretary of Doctors for the Environment Australia and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Adelaide University.

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