PSR Helps Raise Health at COP 24 Climate Talks December 12, 2018
Photo: UNFCCC / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
As the nations of the world meet in Poland to discuss compliance with the Paris Climate Accords, PSR national board president Pouné Saberi, MD coauthored an article asking: Where is health in the conversation?
Dr. Saberi is attending the conference, known as COP 24, and worked with other in the health contingent to write the article, which was published in the conference newsletter ECO. The article, entitled “What the Health?” reminds COP attendees that “climate change has severe impacts on our health and is likely to have increasing impacts as the Earth warms further.”
Furthermore, it notes, addressing climate change sources through preventive mitigation actions creates significant synergies and co-benefits, including reduced air pollution, increased physical activity, and less diabetes and heart disease.
The article calls for “Placing health at the centre of the COP negotiations and countries’ NDCs,” (Nationally Determined Contributions), which are each nation’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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