NSW Chair of DEA, GP Dr Kim Loo spoke with Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) in this empowering and visionary video about the possibilities of Australia’s low carbon future.
Australia needs to act on climate change because our population is already feeling the impacts of climate change.
In western Sydney where I work, the temperatures have hit close to 50 degrees Celsius.
The impact on my patient population has been devastating. If we don’t actually do anything about adaptation and mitigation of climate change – Western Sydney will not be liveable!
As a doctor working with individual patients I could see that it was impossible for me to actually help my patients. So I tell patients what you eat, what you drink, how much to exercise determines how healthy you are. When I could see that the heat and the air pollution was beyond my control.
It’s a systems problem that requires a systems solution. Our health is inextricably linked to our environment
We need clean air, clean water, healthy soils, a stable climate and a healthy ecosystem for us to be healthy.
“A better future for Australia means that we use our abundant renewable energy. We have enough wind and sunlight here to power the whole of Australia.”
~ Dr Kim Loo
Climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is the greatest threat to our public health – we know this. We also know that a transition to a low carbon economy brings enormous benefits to our communities.
The possibilities are infinite. I want whole communities to benefit from this transition so that no-one is left behind and no-one is left out. This is entirely possible in Australia – we just need the imagination and the desire to do this.
Climate care is health care
Take climate action now – for health’s sake