The health implications of changes in climate are in danger of being ignored in the next global agreement on climate change mitigation, the CIEH will tell key politicians ahead of the Copenhagen conference on climate change in December.
In its briefing material to Joan Walley MP, who will be attending the Copenhagen talks in her capacity as vice chairman of the Commons Environmental Audit Committee, the CIEH will say that health must be at the heart of debates on climate change.
Bob Mayho, CIEH Principal Policy Officer said:
“So far, the focus of the debate in the run-up to Copenhagen has been on the prospects for a new deal between countries in the developed and developing world to cut carbon emissions.
“The need to take action now to mitigate the health impact of climate change has been largely overlooked. Time is running out to reach agreement on concerted action to tackle these issues.”
In preparing its briefing material, the CIEH met with Dr Mike Gill, Chairman of the Climate and Health Council and Tony Bosworth, Senior Campaigner at Friends of the Earth.
All three parties were united in their view that organisations with a public health mission should seek to persuade politicians of the need for urgent action.
The CIEH has been campaigning to ensure that health is a central consideration at the Copenhagen conference from 7 to 18 December. The event will be the fifth meeting of the parties of the Kyoto protocol.
The aim of the conference is to produce a global climate agreement for the period after 2012.