Global | Launch of Our Climate Our Health

Health Care Without Harm is proud to be a partner in Our Climate Our Health, a global campaign by the Global Climate and Health Alliance to engage health professionals in the lead-up to the UN climate change negotiations in December.

This campaign reflects the breadth and diversity of the health sector’s increasing involvement in climate change advocacy over the last several years. Our Climate Our Health will showcase numerous examples of where health professionals and organizations are already taking action, including:

• The 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge, a campaign calling on healthcare systems to take leadership on climate change (learn more below). Coordinated by Global Green and Healthy Hospitals.
• The Paris Platform for Healthy Energy, a statement representing the views of organizations and individuals in the health sector committed to advocating for healthy energy options. Coordinated by the Healthy Energy Initiative.
• The World Health Organization’s Call To Action on Climate Change and Health
• Doctors for Climate Action, a campaign to raise global awareness of the impact of climate change on human health. Coordinated by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Global | Webinar on Health Impacts of Energy Choices

A webinar on October 21 (October 22 in parts of the world) will discuss the health impacts of energy options, and how the health sector can play a role in informing policy decisions that promote healthy energy.

Partners of the Healthy Energy Initiative will present case studies from Australia, South Africa, India, and Europe. The webinar is being offered as part of the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Webinar Series. Register now!

Global | Paris Conference on Climate Change and Health Care

Health Care Without Harm and the French Hospital Federation are co-organizing a Conference on Climate Change and Health Care in Paris on December 4, parallel with the negotiations at the UN Climate Conference.

The event will bring together managers of healthcare facilities and community health professionals in France, as well as representatives of institutions in Europe, US, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Learn more and register.

India | Doctors Blame Air Pollution for Sharp Rise in Respiratory Diseases

A sharp rise in cases of chest and throat disease in India is being blamed by doctors on worsening air pollution in the country, which is home to 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world.

The problem is not limited to Delhi, the capital, whose air pollution has received the most attention. Parts of Chennai, for example, are home to coal-burning power stations and other industrial sites, and residential areas nearby experience deadly levels of fine particulates and other pollutants. Read more.

Healthy Energy News Roundup

• Germany | HEAL invites signatures to German Call to Action on climate and health (via Health and Environment Alliance)
• Germany | HEAL promotes Lancet Commission’s findings on health and climate change in Germany (via Health and Environment Alliance)
• Global | Climate change: Assessing effects on health and wealth of populations (via Journal of Public Health Policy)
• Global | Co-benefits of addressing climate change can motivate action around the world (via Nature Climate Change)
• Global | New MOOC on Climate Change Policy and Public Health (via Coursera)
• Global | New MOOC on Climate Change & Health for Policy-Makers (via iversity)
• Global | Road to Paris: Climate Pledges are In (via HCWH-Europe)
• Latin America | Latin American Hospitals Urge Governments to Reaffirm their Efforts Against Climate Change (via Global Green and Healthy Hospitals)
• Poland | Polish president signs ‘anti-smog’ law (via Radio Poland)
• Vietnam | Coal expansion in Vietnam could claim 25,000 lives per year (via Greenpeace Southeast Asia)

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