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Medical school declares a climate emergency
By: Matt Bemment
Last updated: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
BSMS has declared a climate emergency
As a medical school, we wish to declare a Climate and Ecological emergency and to co-sign the joint medical schools declaration.
There is clear and conclusive evidence of the threat posed by anthropogenic climate change to health across the globe, for example through extreme weather events such as heatwaves and indirectly through mechanisms such as malnutrition from crop failure. These health impacts are already being witnessed and threaten to reverse decades of progress and improvements in health, as well as to widen existing health inequalities. Air pollution, which shares many of the same drivers as climate change, is estimated to cause around 7 million deaths per year with effects ranging from cardiovascular disease, dementia and type 2 diabetes and their associated demands on healthcare. Paradoxically, healthcare itself contributes to climate change and air pollution and the scale of this contribution is predicted to increase in coming years. Actions to tackle climate change through, for example, changing diet and modes of transport, represent health co-benefits and opportunities for the healthcare community.
As an organisation whose ultimate purpose is to improve individual and population health through medical education and research into healthcare, we have a duty both to acknowledge the risks posed by the climate emergency and to respond accordingly.
We commit to working with our partners across health and academic communities to identify and act on ways to reduce our impacts on the environment, to develop and deliver teaching and learning on sustainable healthcare, and to support efforts to mitigate the health impacts of climate change.
Signatories:
BSMS Faculty:
Professor Malcolm Reed, Dean of Medical School
Professor Juliet Wright, Director of Undergraduate Studies,
Professor Gordon Ferns, Head of Department of Medical Education,
Professor Mahmood Bhutta,
Dr Anna Jones, Lead for Sustainable Healthcare Education.
Students:
Jim Lee and Janani Murugesh, Leads for the Planetary Health Report Card