Submission to the 2017 Review of Australia’s climate change policies
What about health impacts?
The Doctors Reform Society is a health organisation which aims to improve health for all people in a socially just and equitable way. We believe that human health depends fundamentally on a healthy environment. We accept the scientific consensus that anthropogenic global warming is occurring, that this is a great hazard to health, and that urgent action to combat this is required.(1)
It is from our health perspective that we wish to make a brief submission to the current review of Australia’s climate change policies. This complements and in places overlaps with our recent submission to the National Electricity Market review.(2)
We welcome the discussion paper’s acknowledgement that the climate change is a global issue requiring an international response, in which Australia has an important role to play.(3)
However, we note the near-absence of discussion of health in the discussion paper – indeed, the word “health” appears only once, in reference to motor vehicle emissions rather than climate change impacts. It is vital that the Australian government responds to climate change not just as an environmental issue or an energy issue but also as a serious health issue…