13. Climate Change and Environmental Health

13.1  The DRS considers that maintenance of the total environment is of concern to world survival and that environmental health is a fundamental public health issue facing the Australian community.  Addressing environmental health problems requires attention to the underlying causes and not just the symptoms.

13.2  The DRS is aware of the inter-relatedness of the Earth’s ecosystems and believes there is a need to maintain a high quality sustainable environment both at the local and global levels.  The DRS supports increasing awareness of this interdependence to encourage initiation and support of policies and actions protecting the environment and environmental health.

13.3 The DRS believes environmental health involves the land, the life which grows or is sustained by the land, the quality of air, water, food supply and habitation and the maintenance of a safe social environment.

13.4  The DRS believes profit motives of public and private sectors have been fundamental in the decline of our environment.  Steps need to be instituted to ensure a balance between economic development, sustainability and a healthy environment.

13.5  The DRS believes all new technologies should be reviewed before introduction for their impact on working conditions and the total environment.

13.6  The DRS believes incentives should be enacted to encourage the development of sustainability, encompassing the efficient utilisation of renewable resources and the maximal recycling of non-renewable resources and safe environmental practices.  This should be enacted by government and any practice which contravenes these principles should be the subject of substantial penalties.

13.7  The DRS believes consumption patterns of individuals impact on the environment and health outcomes.  There needs to be a balance between what is desirable for a quality existence and the maintenance of a healthy environment.

13.8  In recognising the impact the use of resources and the size of the population has on the environment, the DRS believes development efforts should address both population growth and consumption.  The DRS believes strategies to reduce the inequalities between developed and developing countries are essential. (see also 16. International Health and Developing Countries)

13.9  The DRS recognises the value of wilderness areas and the need to preserve them.  The DRS acknowledges the world’s resources are limited and future survival depends on establishing and maintaining significant areas of undisturbed country so that the diversity of existing life may continue for future benefit.

13.10  The DRS is concerned about pesticide and herbicide residues in food and the environment.  The DRS believes there should be strict controls and monitoring of their use.  Stringent uniform regulations are required and use should be restricted to fully trained and licensed operators.  The DRS supports development of safe, alternative methods of biological control.  (see also Occupational Health 12.5)

13.11  The DRS recognises the importance of the built environment on health.  This includes materials, systems used in structures and design factors which protect both the internal and external environment.  (see also 6.6 Housing and Habitat)

13.12  The DRS believes work practices, materials used and interpersonal interactions are key issues in a work environment influencing the health of the workers involved as well as the surrounding region.  The DRS believes work places must incorporate safe conditions for both the workers and the surrounding community.  The use of renewable resources and the recycling of non-renewable resources should be normal practice for all work places. (see also 12. Occupational Health)

13.13  The DRS believes motor vehicle use needs to be decreased urgently and supports incentives for the use of more environmentally-friendly methods of transport.  Public transport needs to be safe, affordable and accessible for all people.  The association between the construction of roads and increased motor vehicle use also needs to be addressed.

13.14  The DRS believes all people have a right to clean air and those who choose to smoke should not place others at risk.  Indoor areas and work places should be smoke-free environments.  (see also 6.3 Tobacco, Alcohol and other Drug Use)

13.15 Climate change

13.15.1 The DRS accepts the scientific consensus that anthropogenic global warming is occurring and that urgent action to combat this is required.

13.15.2 The DRS believes climate change has increasingly severe impacts, not just on the global environment, but also in many ways on humanity, including on global human health. Climate change is, amongst other things, a health issue.

13.15.3 The DRS believes there should be an urgent response to the health effects of climate change including the direct effects (heatwaves, storms, flooding, drought) and the indirect effects (such as malnutrition due to food insecurity, displacement of populations due to rising sea levels, changing patterns of infectious diseases, mental illness, pollution-induced physical illness, conflict etc.).

13.15.4 The DRS believes that efforts to mitigate climate change should be a public health intervention of the highest priority.

13.15.5 The DRS supports local, national and international efforts to keep global temperatures to as close to pre-industrial temperatures as possible. We support the full ambitions of the Paris agreement on climate change (limiting warming to less than 1.5 degrees centigrade).

13.15.6 The DRS supports local, national and international efforts towards adaptation and resilience in the face of unavoidable climate change.

13.15.7 The DRS believes affluent countries have a particular responsibility to lead mitigation and adaptation efforts. People living in poverty are those most at risk of the effects of climate change, and also those least equipped to mitigate it or adapt to its impacts.

13.15.8 The DRS believes that climate change mitigation efforts offer many immediate health, social and environmental co-benefits.

13.15.9 The DRS believes that the Australian government needs an effective multi-sectoral national strategy for action on climate change to meet or exceed our international obligations.

13.15.10 The DRS believes that it is unethical to profit from environmental destruction, and therefore advocates for divestment from investments supporting fossil fuel exploration and extraction.