A University of Galway academic who has contributed to the latest Lancet countdown on health and climate change says Ireland must “health proof” its future as part of its response.
Risks posed by climate change are being exacerbated by continued investment in fossil fuels and lagging funds for action to protect health, the eighth global annual indicator report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change says.
Karyn Morrissey, Professor in Environment and Marine at the University of Galway’s J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics and Ryan Institute, has been a contributing author to the Lancet report since 2016.
The report says that in 2023 people were exposed to, on average, an unprecedented 50 more days of health-threatening temperatures than expected without climate change.
It has found that extreme drought affected 48% of the global land area - the second-highest level recorded – and the higher frequency of heatwaves and droughts was associated with 151 million more people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity than annually between 1981 and 2010.
The authors say governments and companies are “fuelling the fire” with persistent investment in fossil fuels, all-time high energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and years of delays in adaptation that are narrowing the survival chances of people across the globe.
The Lancet Countdown report says that the financial resources to deliver net zero emissions and secure a healthy future are available.
Yet governments and companies are spending trillions of dollars on fossil fuel subsidies and investments that are making climate change worse - money that could be redirected towards clean renewable energy and activities that benefit people’s health, livelihoods and wellbeing, it says.
Amidst these concerning findings, the report highlights new opportunities to put health at the centre of the world’s response to climate change, including at the upcoming United Nations Climate Summit, COP29 ‘finance COP’ in Azerbaijan, where negotiations will take place on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for increasing climate finance.
Prof Morrissey says that “in terms of the health impacts of climate change, increasing temperatures and exposure to extreme heat events dominate international concern with temperature records smashed throughout the globe”.
“Monitoring 15 climate change-related health hazards, exposures, and impacts, including measures of heat exposure, drought and wildfires, this year we found that 10 have reached new records,”she says.
“However, climate change is not just about heat; in Northern Europe we are seeing an increased number, length and severity of cold snaps which are equally detrimental to our health,”she says,
“In Ireland increased rainfall and flooding is directly impacting critical infrastructure in areas of the country, cities, towns and rural areas, and key economic sectors including agriculture, transportation, retail and hospitality,”she points out.
“At the same time, years of delays in adaptation, alongside new records in fossil fuel emissions and investments in fossil fuel sectors means that we are now dangerously close to breaching the Paris Agreements target of limiting global multi-year mean heating to 1.5 degrees,”Prof Morrissey says.
“Alongside the cost-of-living crisis, and the on-going impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic we are systematically undoing the phenomenal public health progress we made during the 20th entury, which saw life expectancy in Ireland increasing from 66 to 82 years. We need to appreciate that health progress is not a given, and that without concrete actions backed by financial and regulatory resources we are jeopardising our own future,” she says.
Dr Morrissey highlighted that Ireland still has a large rural population, many of whom work outdoors, and increases in temperature and more extreme weather events such as heavy and prolonged rain are putting people’s health and livelihoods at risk.
With high rates of often hidden deprivation and already poor infrastructure, Dr Morrissey stressed that putting the health impacts of climate change at the centre of every sectors’ response to the climate crisis is key to “health-proofing” our future.
Dr Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at University College London, said that “this year’s stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction reveals the most concerning findings yet in our eight years of monitoring,
“Once again, last year broke climate change records, with extreme heat waves, deadly weather events, and devastating wildfires affecting people around the world. No individual or economy on the planet is immune from the health threats of climate change. The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions compounds these dangerous health impacts and is threatening to reverse the limited progress made so far and put a healthy future further out of reach,”she said.
“Despite this threat, we see financial resources continue to be invested in the very things that undermine our health. Repurposing the trillions of dollars being invested in, or subsidising, the fossil fuel industry every year would provide the opportunity to deliver a fair, equitable transition to clean energy and energy efficiency, and a healthier future, ultimately benefiting the global economy,”she said.
Responding to the report publication, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres said: “Record-high emissions are posing record-breaking threats to our health. We must cure the sickness of climate inaction – by slashing emissions, protecting people from climate extremes, and ending our fossil fuel addiction – to create a fairer, safer, and healthier future for all.”
Professor Karyn Morrissey’s work at University of Galway focuses on the impact of climate change and the environment and the impact it will have on human health and the economy.
The Lancet Countdown represents the consensus of 122 authors across 57 academic institutions and UN agencies. The report will be launched through a virtual event on Wednesday October 30, 2024 from 3pm-5pm GMT.
Read the full report here
