The Paris Climate Change agreement, reached in December 2015, was a political triumph and has now been ratified by 171 parties to the treaty out of a total of 197. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is “to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well […]
There is a looming healthcare crisis, and we are woefully short of doctors… Sound familiar? Except in this case, we are talking about the “biggest global health threat of the 21st century” (The Lancet) and one that our healthcare community is distressingly incapable of articulating the danger of. Catastrophic flooding in Nepal and the Indian […]
Deregulation is benefiting the few while harming the many by putting profits over public health and safety, says Chris Simms […]
Nearly all Indian towns and cities exist in a paradox: they are water scarce in dry seasons, yet prone to severe flooding during monsoons. Earlier this summer, the entire area of south India was parched, putting pressure on already dwindling water resources. Yet come this monsoon season, as the city of Mumbai was submerged after being […]
Human decisions are ramping up the intensity and frequency of such storms and making their consequences worse […]
By Richard Smith and David Pencheon In 2007 Fiona Godlee, editor of The BMJ and somebody who has been concerned about the environment for at least 30 years, was outed as a “climate criminal” for flying too much. We too are concerned about the environment, but we both have cars, washing machines, dishwashers, and tumble […]
Decades before the advent of complexity science, H L Mencken wrote that “For every complex problem there is a solution which is clear, simple, and wrong.” These solutions typically complicate existing problems while creating new ones. Local and global health communities likely have lessons to offer political leaders at risk of opting for these kinds […]
Climate change is widely recognized as the most urgent issue facing planet Earth. The scientific community is clear: we must take strong action to stop practices that are causing global warming or risk passing a tipping point. [1] Yet instead of democratic leadership to protect the wellbeing of the planet ahead of all other interests, […]
The UK government’s climate advisers’ call for action The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the UK government’s official climate adviser, recently delivered its latest assessment of the UK’s progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and prepare for climate change. In its latest report to parliament, the CCC warns that progress made so far to […]
Temperatures in the UK have soared to 34°C this week, and the UK Met Office has issued its second highest heatwave alert. A number of European countries, including Spain, Portugal, and France, have all triggered alerts following record highs of over 40°C last weekend. If the health effects of heatwaves on patients, especially the most vulnerable, […]