Document from the MINDS for ONE HEALTH Expert Group

Correct information on HEALTH and CLIMATE CHANGE

Roberto Rossi

We report the position taken by the group Minds for One Health (M4OH), made up of about sixty experts from various disciplines united by the purpose of protecting ecosystems, the environment in which we live and human health and living organisms.

“We are baffled by the episode that happened in the episode of White paper of 7 June 2022 (RAI3), where a researcher of the authority of Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorological Society, was forced to abandon the broadcast in the face of an attempt to make the climate crisis appear as a debatable topic on which it is right to take sides politically and make a show, giving space to uninformed and superficial positions, such as those expressed by the journalist Francesco Borgonova, self-declared, moreover, "non-expert".

We are part of the scientific community and we undoubtedly share the heartfelt messages of scientific institutions like theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body responsible for preparing assessment reports on scientific knowledge relating to climate change, its impacts, associated risks and options for mitigation and adaptation, reviewing and summarizing the work of tens of thousands of scientific studies. Or like the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, or the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, to affirm that the climate crisis is an irrefutably ongoing phenomenon, with devastating effects already detected and documented, such as the increase in the frequency of extreme events, fires, floods, melting glaciers, droughts, famines, infectious and chronic-degenerative diseases and mortality from many causes.

The picture that emerges from the above documents certifies how at any level (local, Italian, European, worldwide) the actions and policies of intervention, mitigation and adaptation are currently minimally sufficient to face the threat of a global systemic collapse, capable of involving ecosystem balances at all scales, thus opening the door to a collapse of social, health and economic infrastructures, with a consequent threat to the very existence of societies.

We recall that climate change has contributed to reducing water resources by 20% available on the planet in the last 20 years and that the current drought shows us how much this process is underway and capable of having a devastating impact on the entire ecosphere and on our societies.

The scientific world has proven that this crisis is the result of human activities that have caused unprecedented changes on the primary goods and services produced by ecological systems and agricultural systems. These changes have destroyed nature's ability to regulate the environment and ensure climate stability, and human cultures and societies will have to cope with this loss. According to current estimates, more than 75% of natural ecosystems are subject to degradation and loss of their functions, which undermines all efforts to preserve the climate and threatens the achievement of sustainability goals including the eradication of hunger, disease and poverty.

We consider it very dangerous to misinform on this subject, as a trivialization of the problem and a false perception of the real risks could lead the public to think that it is possible to postpone ad libitum the moment of the adoption of measures, individual and collective, necessary to deal effectively with the climate crisis.

It is well established that exposure to extreme heat increases the risk of death per malattie cardiovascolari, cerebrovascolari, respiratorie e tutte le cause. Il “Lancet Countdown 2021″ ha stimato nell’anno 2019 un record a livello globale di 345.000 decessi correlati al calore nelle persone over 65, l’80% in più rispetto alla media del periodo 2000-05. [The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future, Lancet 2021; 398:1619–62]

We remind you that there are solutions indicated by international agencies such as the International Energy Agency or the European Environment Agency, which would make it possible to immediately reduce energy consumption and therefore climate-altering emissions which are harmful to health. It is solutions that information should deal with, instead of wasting precious time still questioning the existence of global warming and its anthropic origin.

The fact that energy is mainly produced with fossil fuels has caused climate change and the continuous demand for new energy sources is one of the causes of conflicts. Climate change itself can act as a catalyst and turn situations of crisis and tension into wars. This link between climate change and war had already been clearly highlighted by the Nobel Committee in 2007, when it awarded the 'Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change' (IPCC) and other Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize.

We reiterate our opposition to coal and gas, as their use causes emissions which, instead of mitigating them, aggravate climate change and cause an unacceptable burden of disease and mortality. The scientific world believes that the transition to renewable sources is immediately feasible, especially if associated with energy savings.

But reducing climate-changing emissions is not enough: We recall the call of other scientists to reiterate that you need to recognize and support the unique role of natural ecosystems in preserving the climate and a vital environment with international climate policy adjustments and fundamental changes in national development strategies. We need to preserve the richness of natural habitats and biodiversity as humanity's top priority and halt their further destruction through the adoption of a global moratorium on any further development of territories as yet untouched by human activities, with international support mechanisms, including funding.

We appeal to the political class not to be responsible for an announced disaster and for which it could be held accountable, and to all conscientious journalists and citizens to be part of this change.

We don't seem to have seen it in the media the interventions (March and April 2022) by the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres at the press conference for the presentation of the IPCC AR6 report, therefore we propose the reading of some excerpts.

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– I have seen many scientific reports, but nothing like this. Today's report from the IPCC is the infamous indictment of the failure of climate management.

– It is the catalog of empty and shameful promises that are leading us straight towards an unlivable world.

– Science tells us that the world must cut 45% emissions by 2030 and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But under current commitments, global emissions will grow by almost 14% in the current decade alone. This means catastrophe.

– You cannot trumpet that you are “green” while your plans and projects contradict the net zero goal and completely ignore the emissions cuts that need to be made this decade.

– Glasgow's pledge on finance for adaptation is not enough to address the challenges facing nations on the front lines of the climate crisis.

– I know that everywhere people are prey to anxiety and anger. So am I. Now is the time to convert anger into action. Every fraction of a degree matters. Every voice can make a difference, and every second counts.”

The document is endorsed by the Interdisciplinary Group of Experts on Environment and Health Minds for One-Health:

This document does not necessarily express the position of the institutions of origin of the authors.

Source: Environment and more

N.d.R. – Riportare, al di la’ delle opinioni personali, che pure non vogliamo nascondere, un documento proveniente da un panel di esperti studiosi su un tema di grande impatto sulla salute pubblica, non ha solo una valenza scientifica, civica e sociale ma ci richiama ad una questione estremamente attuale di comunicazione scientifica.  I media troppo spesso propongono situazioni nelle quali si confrontano sullo stesso piano le opinioni dello scienziato e dell’uomo di strada (per semplificare appunto).

On such complex issues, the risks, in terms of public opinion, are enormous. We touched them firsthand in the Covid era, but the vice is perpetuated to the full advantage of ratings, clicks and likes.

Un campanello di allarme che continua a suonare….

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