1.5 ºC are not few for the planet, says expert 2:37
(CNN) -
Human health is already being damaged by the climate crisis and the impacts could become catastrophic and irreversible unless governments do more to tackle global warming, the editors of more than 230 medical journals said in a joint editorial. on Monday.
The editorial points out links established between the climate crisis and a series of adverse health impacts in the last 20 years: among them are an increase in deaths from heat, dehydration and loss of kidney function, skin cancer, tropical infections , mental health problems, pregnancy complications, allergies, and heart and lung diseases, and the deaths associated with them.
The relationship between climate change and extreme rainfall 2:02
"Health is already being damaged by rising global temperatures and the destruction of the natural world, a situation for which health professionals have been drawing attention for decades," the editorial read.
The text warns that an increase in the global average temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and the loss of biodiversity represent "catastrophic damage to health that will be impossible to reverse." Governments around the world are devising plans to try to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the impacts of climate change from worsening - a goal the editorial says has not gone far enough to protect the public health. Warming is already around 1.2 degrees Celsius.
"Despite the world's necessary concern about covid-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions," the authors wrote, calling on governments to respond to the climate crisis in the same spirit of " unprecedented funding "dedicated to the pandemic.
Is global warming irreversible?
0:26
The UK-based BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal), one of the journals that published the report, said that "never before" have so many health journals been brought together to make the same statement, "reflecting the severity of the climate change emergency that the world now faces. "
advertising
The authors also cautioned that the goal of reaching net zero, where the world does not emit more greenhouse gases than it removes from the atmosphere, was based on unproven technology to remove gases such as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
They added that global warming was more likely to exceed 2 degrees Celsius, a threshold that climate scientists say would bring catastrophic extreme weather events, among other impacts on human, animal and plant life.
Simply urging the world and the energy industry to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy does not meet the action necessary to meet the challenge of the climate crisis, they said.
The editorial was published as a call to action ahead of several meetings between world leaders to discuss and negotiate actions on the climate crisis, including the UN General Assembly next week, a conference on biodiversity in Kunming, China, in October and Crucial climate talks in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November.
Summers would be longer due to global warming 0:42
Among the key climate issues that these events are expected to address is the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which puts an end date on the use of coal and protects biodiversity, both on land and in the sea.
"The greatest threat to global public health is the continued failure of world leaders to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and restore nature. Urgent changes must be made throughout society that will lead to a fairer and healthier world, "the authors wrote.
"We, as editors of health magazines, call on governments and other leaders to act, marking 2021 as the year the world finally changes course."
Global warming