June 29, 2020 - Australia is particularly vulnerable to some of the worst impacts of climate change with extreme heat, drought, drying rivers, coastal erosion and changing patterns of disease– threatening health, livelihoods and ...
Health & Energy
Health & Energy covers a lot of topics we hear about every day, including Coal, Natural Gas, Renewable Energy, Transport, and The Built Environment.
Please click the titles below to read more about each of these topics.
Coal is a major source of rising greenhouse gas causing climate change. The burning of coal emits hazardous air pollutants, including particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, mercury and arsenic. Australia has one of the most carbon intensive and polluting electricity supplies in the world. By investing in renewable energy sources and rapidly transitioning from fossil fuels, we can save lives and improve health immediately due to improved local environments, prevent unmanageable climate change with its associated devastating health consequences, and make sound economic investments in Australia’s future. The fossil gas industry is a major source of the powerful greenhouse gas methane which is responsible for around 25% of global heating. Gas also contributes significantly to rising levels of carbon dioxide. Leadership on addressing climate change involves an urgent increase in the use of renewable energy to replace greenhouse gas-producing fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels for energy production is harmful to health both within Australia and internationally. The co-benefits of renewable energy are a reduction in the huge health costs from fossil fuel pollution. A more rapid increase in renewable energy deployment is essential in fulfilling Australia’s commitment to green-house emission abatement and in holding world temperature rise to less than 2°C, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Transport is both a major source of greenhouse gas increases and an important source of air pollution causing multiple health problems. Active transport in walking and cycling mitigates both these effects and reduces the incidence of diabetes, obesity and hypertension by reducing sedentary behaviours. Investment in efficient electrified public transport is an investment in health. The way our public buildings and private dwellings are built and the sort of energy they require are important factors in mitigating climate change and optimising a liveable environment. Urban design to promote green spaces and reduce vehicle pollution brings multiple health benefits. Coal
Natural Gas
Gas extraction is polluting. Good health is dependent on having clean air, clean water, a safe sustainable food supply and a stable climate. There are serious threats to these determinants of health from unconventional gas development. They relate to water, land and air pollution by chemicals used and mobilised in the process, water security, degradation of productive agricultural land, community health and loss of livelihood and landscape. Renewable Energy
Transport
The Built Environment
Media release: #TurnOffTheGas and sign the petition for a healthier and cleaner Australia
June 24, 2020 - Health experts, including GPs and medical specialists, are today launching a video message warning that a gas-led pandemic economic recovery would be hazardous to health and cost lives. The call by ...
Why Doctors are concerned about a “gas-led recovery” from pandemic
June 23, 2020 - Outlined in these frequently asked questions, are the many problems methane poses for the environment and human health and why doctors are calling for an alternative solution to the “gas-led” ...
Canberra Times: Fossil fuel projects are not the way out
May 11, 2020 - Relying on fossil fuel projects to help with a COVID-19 recovery is like planning to recover from a heart attack by adopting a deep-fried diet, or treating diabetes with mountains ...
Media release: Home gas appliances can have lethal consequences, doctors warn
May 4, 2020 - As winter temperatures set in and Victorians reach for the heating dial, doctors have warned that home gas appliances can cause health problems, including carbon monoxide poisoning, for residents. Doctors ...
Renew Economy: Santos must come clean on methane and accept its responsibilities to human health
April 6, 2020 - Putting aside the inadequacies of government in addressing climate change, many Australians are coming to recognise that the fate of the planet resides mainly in numerous corporate board rooms, writes ...
Submission on the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment Bill 2020 (March 2020)
March 30, 2020 - DEA strongly supports the inclusion of downstream or Scope 3 emissions (Appendix 1) in greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting. The health impacts of GHG emissions are not limited by international borders ...
Submission to the NSW Planning Department on the expansion of the Glendell mine in the Hunter Valley.
February 20, 2020 - The Hunter Valley already has the worst PM10* air pollution in New South Wales. DEA considers that the Glendell expansion proposal is not in the national or local community interest ...
Submission to NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into the costs for remediation of sites containing coal ash repositories
February 20, 2020 - The process of coal combustion leads to a concentration of trace elements in the resulting waste ash. While exposure to the traces of these elements in nature does not usually ...
Media release: Doctors warn extending the life of Vales Point coal-fired power station will have a human cost, from Lake Macquarie to Sydney
February 18, 2020 - Doctors have today slammed the Morrison government’s proposed $11m grant to Vales Point coal-fired power station, as the money to prolong the life of this ageing coal fired-power station is ...
Open flued gas space heaters discussion paper submission (February 2020)
February 7, 2020 - Gas is often regarded as a ‘clean’ fuel, but air pollutants released from the combustion of methane indoors can cause or exacerbate illness involving the heart, lungs brain or nervous ...
Media release: Doctors slam NSW Government’s proposed planning changes
February 5, 2020 - Doctors are demanding that the NSW Government abandons its bill to change the law so that the emissions from burning fossil fuels outside NSW no longer need to be taken ...
Leading international health groups issue joint statement calling for Siemens to #StopAdani
February 3, 2020 - Dear Mr Kaeser, As a company committed to health and sustainability, Siemens’ decision to provide rail signalling for the Adani coal mine is deeply disappointing. We, the undersigned, urge you ...
Submission to Application for a RIDA for Acland Coal Stage 3 Project
January 23, 2020 - While Australia burns as part of the climate crisis, the State of Queensland continues its fervent quest to develop more coal. This is the sixth submission written on New Hope Coal ...
Independent Australia: Australia’s energy policies are doctors’ business
October 28, 2019 - It is extraordinary that Energy Minister Angus Taylor continues to cling to a fossil fuel past at a time when Australia’s emissions are still rising and the urgency required for ...
Newcastle Herald: Emotional toll of mining brought to surface
October 14, 2019 - The effects of coal mining are not only physical, they’re also emotional, writes Dr Bob Vickers. In the Hunter Valley, thermal coal mining is creating an adversarial culture in coal ...
Sustainability of energy supply and resources in NSW (September 2019)
September 23, 2019 - The Environment and Planning Committee of NSW Parliament conducted an inquiry into the sustainability of energy supply and resources in NSW. DEA provided a submission the inquiry. The submission can ...
Dendrobium Mine Expansion Proposal Submission (September 2019)
September 10, 2019 - DEA is concerned about the ongoing mining activities occurring within the Greater Sydney Water Catchment, and the effects of this mining on the water security of over 5 million people. ...
Opinion: The right side of history? Labor’s noble climate talk lost in coal smoke
August 30, 2019 - Labor is all over the shop on climate change. This week its national president, Wayne Swan, is preaching that the party must stay on “the right side of history” and ...
Sydney Morning Herald: The right side of history? Labor’s noble climate talk lost in coal smoke
August 30, 2019 - Labor is all over the shop on climate change, writes Dr David Shearman. Labor’s national president, Wayne Swan, is preaching that the party must stay on “the right side of ...