On December 1, just before COP28 Health Day, a group of WA doctors gathered at 8am on the steps of Parliament House, calling on the WA Government to take urgent action on climate change and protect the health of West Australians.
The protest included representatives of the medical colleges for general practitioners, emergency doctors, rural and remote doctors, and surgeons, as well as other doctors and health professionals, reiterating calls from medical colleges earlier this year in support of ending fossil fuel expansion:
- End expansion of any new fossil fuel infrastructure and production
- Phase out existing production and use of fossil fuels
- Remove fossil fuel subsidies and invest in cheaper and cleaner renewable energy
- Fast track the just transition away from fossil fuel energy.
“RACS urges equitable shift to sustainable energy for health, (as) climate change is already having widespread impacts on human health,” spokesperson Professor David Fletcher said.
“As frontline health workers, surgeons are increasingly responding to health emergencies triggered by the climate crisis. Yet in the face of increasing harm and suffering, new fossil fuel resources continue to be developed and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.
“If we are to have any chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C and halting the escalation of the climate health emergency, we must end the proliferation of fossil fuels.”
They were joined by 15 Kimberley health professionals and experts who gathered in Broome, led by GP obstetrician Penny Wilson, a member of Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), the group behind the action.
Dr Wilson told the ABC that health workers and residents in the Kimberly were seeing increasing numbers of people present with heat related conditions.
“[This is] more than just being about weather and weather events, it is about the health of our communities,” Dr Wilson said.
“The Kimberley is where we see these impacts in our patients as we live and work here.”
DEA pointed out that if WA were a country, it would be the third largest gas producer in the world and despite global efforts to reduce emissions, WA’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise – largely caused by the gas industry and its main byproduct, methane.
This week, just after unprecedented November heat for Perth, and in the wake of the devastating fires north of Perth, the WA Climate Change Bill was tabled in Parliament, without mention of 2030 emission targets but acknowledging that the WA government has planned for further gas expansion.
“Yet health research recognises that using gas in our homes pollutes the air and harms our health. It is especially harmful to the health of children, with climate change also threatening health and our health system,” said Dr Tim Leahy, DEA spokesperson.
“WA is highly vulnerable to this threat and our communities are already suffering the consequences of worsening heat, fires, and smoke.
“Evidence shows us that in WA ambulance callouts are higher on high heat days. Our EDs also face increased presentations including heat-related illnesses, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular events, and mental health conditions. This will only increase as we face worsening climate change, placing additional burden on an already ailing public health system.”
DEA believes that acting on climate change and transitioning rapidly to renewable energy will not only reduce the State’s contribution to dangerous climate change but will also yield health benefits on a local and global level.