Global | New briefing: “Energy systems that protect climate and health”

Global | New briefing: “Energy systems that protect climate and health”

Health Care Without Harm is pleased to join other leading global health organizations in supporting the Health and Climate Network’s recently launched briefing on  “Energy systems that protect climate and health.” This is the second in a briefing series presenting the link between climate action and health. 

The paper puts forward policies regarding energy systems that can help tackle the climate crisis while also improving human health, allowing national governments to address two important challenges at the same time. Efforts to limit global heating to 1.5°C …

Read More »

International health group calls for ban on coal, urges action by governments and institutions

International health group calls for ban on coal, urges action by governments and institutions

Calling coal a “lethal product,” the World Federation of Public Health Associations issued a Call to Ban Coal for Electricity Production.

Read More »

Global | Commitments, call to action, and key takeaways from the WHO Air Pollution Conference

Global | Commitments, call to action, and key takeaways from the WHO Air Pollution Conference

Health Care Without Harm participated in the First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Geneva, Switzerland from October 30 – November 1, 2018. Learn more about our engagement at the conference at noharm-global.org/whoglobal.

“The health of the nation is in peril and the future of our children is at stake. It is time for resolute action, not just seasonal lament.”

– Dr. K. Srinath Reddy (President of the Public Health Foundation of India, a Health Care Without Harm partner) …

Read More »

Global | Lancet Countdown 2017 Report Shows Urgency of Healthy Energy Transition

Global | Lancet Countdown 2017 Report Shows Urgency of Healthy Energy Transition

“From 25 years of inaction to a global transformation for public health”

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change (*) released this week its 2017 report titled, “From 25 years of inaction to a global transformation for public health.” The report builds upon the influential 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, which emphasized that the response to climate change could be “the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century.”

The Lancet Countdown’s 2017 report tracks 40 indicators across five areas, arriving at three key conclusions:

The …

Read More »

Global | Report: Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health

Global | Report: Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health

The Report from The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health analyzes and communicates the massive scope of the health and economic costs of air, water, and soil pollution. Through analyses of existing and emerging data, the Report reveals pollution’s severe and underreported contribution to the Global Burden of Disease. It uncovers the economic costs of pollution to low- and middle-income countries, and compare the costs of inaction to the costs of available solutions. It informs key decision makers around the world about the burden that pollution places …

Read More »

Global | Report quantifies cost of fossil fuel subsidies on human health

Global | Report quantifies cost of fossil fuel subsidies on human health

“World governments make citizens pay billions to destroy their own health”

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), the Healthy Energy Initiative partner in Europe, has launched the report Hidden Price Tags: How ending fossil fuel subsidies would benefit our health providing the first-ever comparison of fossil fuel subsidies and the costs to health associated with air pollution from fossil fuels.

HEAL found that the health costs associated with fossil fuels are over six times higher than fossil fuel subsidies. The report also spotlights how fossil fuel …

Read More »

Global | New World Bank Report Calls for Health Sector Leadership on Climate

Global | New World Bank Report Calls for Health Sector Leadership on Climate

Geneva— The World Bank Group’s health and climate directors released a report today establishing a new framework for health systems in every country to become leaders in addressing climate change. The report is a joint production with Health Care Without Harm (1).

In its title, the report coins the term Climate-Smart Health Care, an approach that sets forth both low-carbon and resilience strategies. These strategies are designed for the development community, ministries of health, hospitals and health systems to deploy while addressing the health impacts of …

Read More »

Global | Health organization leaders launch global campaign on air pollution

Global | Health organization leaders launch global campaign on air pollution

Unmask My City is global initiative by doctors, nurses, public health practitioners, and allied healthcare professionals dedicated to improving air quality and reducing emissions in our cities.

Launching today on World Asthma Day, Unmask My City, a global initiative in 10 cities on five continents, aims to promote practical solutions and create tangible policy changes that drive a clear, downward global trend in urban air pollution by 2030.

This will result in significant reductions in illnesses and deaths as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Through Unmask My …

Read More »

US | Health leaders converge with urgency, unity, and even some optimism at Climate and Health Meeting

US | Health leaders converge with urgency, unity, and even some optimism at Climate and Health Meeting

Over 300 health professionals and health scientists around the US and the world united at a landmark Climate and Health Meeting on February 16 to discuss the urgent measures needed to prevent and ameliorate the adverse health impacts of a changing climate.

Originally organized by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but abruptly cancelled due to concerns about the Trump administration’s stance on climate action, the meeting was reconvened by Former Vice President Al Gore, the American Public Health Association, and health academic institutions.

A …

Read More »

Global & India | “State of Global Air” reveals India’s worsening air pollution in global context

Global & India | “State of Global Air” reveals India’s worsening air pollution in global context

The State of Global Air, a new report and interactive website launched by the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, provides a comprehensive, yet succinct, source of trusted information on the levels of and trends in global air pollution, its sources, and its impact on public health.

Among other findings, the report shows that over 90% of the world’s population live in areas where fine particle levels exceed global air quality guidelines, and that India has surpassed China in the unenviable position of having …

Read More »