Climate Change and Health

Action on climate change represents an opportunity to both reduce harms and risks of climate change and improve health outcomes across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the world.

“Climate change is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century, but it is also the greatest opportunity to redefine the social and environmental determinants of health”

The Lancet Commission Report on Climate Change and Health

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, changing vector-borne disease patterns, and threatens to worsen food and water shortages. Health impacts such as respiratory illness from bushfire smoke and heat stress are already happening. Without urgent action, climate change will continue to have serious and worsening consequences for public health.

We are part of a large and growing global network of health and medical organisations calling for action on climate change to protect health. Our calls include:

an urgent transition to zero emission renewable energy across all economic sectors with support to affected communities;
implementation and funding of the Australian National Health and Climate Strategy to build climate resilient communities and healthcare systems; and
environmentally sustainable healthcare systems.

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Our work on climate change and health

Position statements

We have 3 position statements on climate change and health:

Climate Change and Health (PDF)
Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare (PDF)
The Health Benefits of Mitigating Climate Change (PDF)

We regularly promote the recommendations in these position statements through public consultations, campaigns, and media.

Australian National Health and Climate Strategy

The RACP has welcomed the Australian Government’s release of the nation’s first ever National Health and Climate Strategy at COP28 in Dubai. The Strategy comes after more than a decade of advocacy by the RACP and others in the sector. We have had significant involvement in the development of the Strategy, including RACP President membership on the Chief Medical Officer Advisory Group, which informed the development of the Strategy. The Strategy reflects many of our key recommendations, including the need for a focus on healthy climate resilient communities in addition to a focus on climate resilient and climate friendly healthcare systems. The Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care, also acknowledged the RACPs successful advocacy in securing the Strategy at the Greening the Health Care Sector conference in WA in September 2023.

The RACP’s Climate Change and Health Working Group led our submission on the Strategy’s consultation paper in 2023, supported by RACP bodies and specialty societies across the RACP.

The Australian Government has established the Climate and Health Expert Advisory Group (“CHEAG”) to provide advice on and support the implementation of the Strategy. The RACP President and Chair of the Climate Change and Health Multi-College advisory committee (“CMAC”) are members of the Group.

Healthy Climate Future Campaign

The Healthy Climate Future Campaign brings together 14 medical colleges. Collectively, we advocate for climate action to build healthy and climate-resilient communities and environmentally sustainable healthcare systems. The campaign is also supported by 14 specialty societies. Together, we represent more than 100,000 doctors.

The Campaign was developed following the release of the RACP-commissioned research report Climate Change and Australia’s Healthcare Systems – A Review of Literature, Policy and Practice in 2021. The report is clear that the risks of climate change to Australian healthcare systems require urgent action.

The Australian National Health and Climate Strategy is an important first step towards improving the climate resilience of healthcare systems in Australia and the promotion and protection of the health of the population.

As part of our advocacy on the Strategy, we released a joint statement with 12 other medical colleges involved in the campaign. The statement calls for the Strategy to be fully funded, have National Cabinet sign-off, and be First Nations led. The joint statement received significant media and social media coverage, including the former RACP President Dr Jacqueline Small appearing on ABC TV in a live interview.

MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change

The RACP has regularly contributed to the development of the Lancet Countdown and MJA-Lancet Countdown policy briefs on Australia’s progress on health and climate change since 2017. The policy briefs provide actionable, evidence-based recommendations based on the MJA-Lancet Countdown and the global Lancet Countdown reports. We endorsed the 2022 MJA-Lancet Australian policy brief, available on Lancet Resources.

Submissions and Advocacy

2024

July
Endorsement: The RACP endorsed the "Joint Statement: Working together to achieve sustainable high quality health care in a changing climate” developed by the interim Australian Centre for Disease Control and the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care.

Advocacy: The RACP President and Chair of the Climate Change and Health Multi-College Advisory Committee attended the Australian Government’s inaugural Climate & Health Expert Advisory Group meeting. CHEAG has been set up by the interim Centre for Disease Control, Department of Health and Aged Care, to enable expert input into the implementation of the Australian National Health and Climate Strategy.

June

Attendance at event: RACP delegates, led by President Professor Jennifer Martin, attended a Multi-College Roundtable on Climate Change and Health hosted by the interim Centre for Disease Control, Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

May

Attendance at event: RACP Member provided expert advice at the NSW Health Draft Net Zero Roadmap (PDF) consultation session, focusing on ways to transition to low carbon, high-quality models of care guided by sustainable healthcare principles.

Advice: RACP member provided expert advice to the CSIRO project on the impact that climate change could have on communicable disease risks in Australia by 2050.

April
Presentation: The RACP gave a keynote address at the launch of the MJA-Lancet Countdown report on health and climate for Oceania for 2023.

March
Media release: The RACP released a climate-focussed pre-budget media release, which received significant media coverage including an ABC breakfast interview

Attendance at event: RACP Member provided expert advice participating in the Macquarie University Australian Institute of Health Innovation Research Roundtable, addressing the impact of climate change on human health and bridging research and action for a sustainable future.

February
Attendance at event: RACP Member provided expert advice attending Asthma Australia’s second inhaler roundtable, focusing on reducing emissions from respiratory inhalers and transitioning to quality, low-carbon asthma care.

Advice: Modelling the health impacts of climate change (PDF)

Coordination of consultation session on implementing the anaesthetic and other gases actions from the National Health and Climate Strategy hosted by the RACP and facilitated by the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care.