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GPs call on governments to act now on climate change

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The RACGP is calling for stronger environmental action in a new position on climate change, outlining steps governments and GPs can take to reduce current and future adverse health risks.
 
In its updated Climate change and planetary health position statement, the RACGP describes ‘a triad of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution’ threatening environmental and human health.
 
From higher temperatures and heat waves to respiratory diseases and mental ill health, the RACGP statement acknowledges the impacts being felt across populations, with those most at risk being more vulnerable through age, pre-existing illness or social circumstances.
 
It calls on governments to step up and return climate change to the political agenda as well as committing the RACGP to supporting environmentally sustainable general practice.
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said Australia cannot afford for climate change to ‘fall off the agenda’ while the health impacts continue to grow.
 
‘Governments must put health at the centre of climate policy, fully implement the National Health and Climate Strategy, and invest in prevention and primary care to build healthier, more climate-resilient communities,’ he said.
 
‘As the most accessed health profession in Australia, GPs have a critical role to play in safeguarding population health by helping patients and communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the health impacts of climate change.
 
‘It’s time for a transition to a net zero healthcare system and general practice can lead the way.’
 
Instrumental in developing the new position, Dr Rosalie Schultz, a GP and RACGP Specific Interests Climate and Environmental Medicine member, said the new statement reflects the changes that have occurred in recent years.
 
‘Quite a lot has changed in the climate change situation since the last position statement,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘In particular, we’re seeing much more extreme weather events, and it is extreme weather events that have a major impact of climate change and are affecting all Australians.
 
‘All GPs need to be aware of the risk and aware of how we can mitigate and adapt, and look after vulnerable patients.’
 
Amongst the changes, the updated position discusses the impact of climate change on mental health, the growing impact of microplastics, as well as a deeper role for the RACGP and GPs.
 
‘Mental health wasn’t considered in the climate change discussion when we did the previous position statement, and now it’s become a really dominant impact of climate change,’ Dr Schultz said.
 
‘There is also increasing suicide rates indirectly linked to climate change, substance use, other mental health issues, and that anxiety that we’re all feeling because of climate change.
 
‘So mental health is a really key consideration in climate change in this update.’
 
Another big issue, she adds, is ‘disinformation’.
 
‘It is so important in our roles as GPs to make sure people are properly informed about climate change.
 
‘It’s true. It’s happening, and we need to take action. And if we don’t take action, it’s going to be even worse.’
 
While the impact of air pollution is estimated to cause more than 3200 deaths in Australia each year, the statement points to increasing recognition of the health impacts of plastics.
 
It says these plastics are contributing around 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and generating waste that disrupts ecosystems and human health.
 
‘Many plastic products used in healthcare contain toxic chemicals that have endocrine disrupting, carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic properties,’ the college statement said.
 
‘Recent studies have identified microplastics in a range of human tissues, including the lungs, placenta, and in blood.
 
‘The health sector is currently contributing to the degradation of the health of people and the planet through environmentally unsustainable practices.’
 
To combat the growing threat of climate change, the new RACGP position statement lays out an action plan for GPs, governments and the college.
 
‘As community leaders GPs and the RACGP have important responsibilities in advocating for government at all levels to implement policies to protect human health from risks of climate change,’ the statement said.
 
The role for GPs in safeguarding population health from climate change includes:
 

• reducing the carbon emissions generated by the health sector particularly through reducing the need for non-GP specialist and hospital-based health services
• reducing the emissions of general practice care
• working to overcome mis- and disinformation that contribute to challenges of responding to climate change
• supporting communities to be resilient to climate impacts by promoting health as well as participating in disaster preparedness, response and recovery
• advocating for urgent action to safeguard health from climate change, including the non-proliferation and phase out of fossil fuels
• advocating for the necessary supports for individuals and communities disproportionately affected by impacts and disruption of climate change to secure a just and equitable transition to a renewable economy.

 
The position also expands the college’s broader advocacy, including calls for governments to adopt a ‘health-in-all-policies’ approach that maximises the synergies between climate policy, health policy and the wider determinants of health.
 
The RACGP also calls for governments to commit to a ‘net zero’ healthcare system by 2040 with the majority of greenhouse gas emissions cuts by 2030.
 
For GPs who understand the impact yet feel unsure where to begin making a difference, Dr Shultz recommends viewing the range of resources on the RACGP website which outlines some key steps for practice owners to create an environmentally sustainable general practice.
 
‘There are also many things that you can do, and being aware is the first one,’ she said.
 
‘Providing excellent primary healthcare is the best thing we can do. Good care is low-carbon care.
 
‘But there’s a whole series of other things you can do to reduce your impact, such as looking at your travel – a major part of our climate impact. Is it possible to cycle to work? Is it possible that you could do telehealth and reduce all that climate, carbon impact of travel?
 
‘Can you introduce paper recycling, reduce water, reduce electricity? Explore what you can do as an individual that will contribute to the bigger picture.
 
‘You can also join the Climate and Environment Specific Interest Group because one of the ways to deal with that climate anxiety is to be part of a group and feel like you’re doing something about this terrible thing that’s happening. And if as GPs, if we feel despair, being part of a group can help.’
 
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climate change environment

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