Climate change is the biggest threat to health system
Date published:
23 Dec 2021
Medical Colleges from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand say that climate change is the biggest current threat to the future of the Australian healthcare system and is calling on the Federal Government to commit to stronger 2030 targets.
The Colleges are calling for the Federal Government to urgently come up with a plan to protect Australians and the healthcare system from the impacts of climate change.
The call comes as the Royal Australasian College of Physicians releases a report it commissioned, prepared by the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. The report, endorsed by 10 Medical Colleges, paints a dire picture of the future of the Australian healthcare system under the unmitigated impacts of climate change.
The report includes a model of the cost of bushfires of varying magnitudes modelled between 2021 and 2030 inclusive. The analysis predicted the loss of 1480 lives, equating to 4024 years of life; healthcare costs of $69 million; and a $10 billion impact on gross domestic product.
The RACP report has been endorsed by the:
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)
- Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA)
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG)
- Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM)
- College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM)
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO)
- Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP)
Read the full media release Read the report