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THE State of the Climate Report for 2024 has renewed calls for more urgent action by researchers and academics.
Monash University Associate Professor Angie Bone is a planetary health specialist and co-director of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI).
She says: “Unless we urgently take decisive action, climate change will have bigger impacts on people’s health than those we saw with COVID-19.
“Some parts of our community have already experienced the disastrous physical and mental health impacts of recent extreme events in Australia and the … report shows these events are going to be more frequent and more intense.”
Bone says the impact of heat, smoke, floods and storms has longer-term implications such as the degradation of air, water and land which affects drinking water and sanitation, food security and safety and access to healthcare.
“As world leaders prepare to meet at the UNFCCC COP annual climate summit in November, their decisions need to consider the costs of inaction on peoples’ health,” Bone says.
“We saw the extreme challenges of a lack of preparedness to public health crises just a few years ago during the pandemic, so let’s learn from that and avoid repeating the same mistakes.”
Kylie Turner is Systems Lead for Sustainable Economies at Monash’s Climateworks Centre
“Reaching for the 1.5C target, which we know is challenging but possible, is the best path for Australia to … there is not a moment to waste,” she says.
“Our recent analysis shows aggregated state and territory climate targets are broadly aligned with limiting warming to well-below 2C of warming, but greater ambition is needed between 2027 and 2032.
Associate Professor Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins is a registered nurse at the Monash School of Nursing and Midwifery, an advocate for climate change mitigation and research lead for climate change and sustainable healthcare.
“People must recognise that the environmental harm outlined in the report is closely linked to human health,” she says.
“The loss of marine ecosystems jeopardises food security and the livelihoods of those dependent on fishing.
“Rising sea levels are causing water salination, which undermines both water security and agricultural productivity. Reduced rainfall is intensifying droughts, further threatening farming and water supplies.
“… I am very worried about the health of future generations as we know that extreme heat poses heightened health risks for pregnant women and babies, increasing the risk of pregnancy complications, preterm birth, low birthweight and stillbirth,” Lokmic-Tomkins says.
“For children, these impacts begin in the womb and may affect them throughout their lives, influencing both body and brain development.
“Threats to food and water security further compound these risks, as nutrition is essential to healthy pregnancies and the growth of babies and children,” she says.
“Australia must do much more and act much more urgently to strengthen global and local efforts to reduce emissions, not only to protect human health, but to safeguard all life on our planet.”
