Doctors warn climate change risk for children

Doctors warn climate change a major risk for children's health

Paediatricians and other senior doctors have called for strong action on climate change in a sobering article just released in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.

“Runaway climate change is a real and urgent threat to the wellbeing of New Zealand’s children,” says Dr Rhys Jones, one of the authors of the paper.

"Children are particularly vulnerable to climate change. In New Zealand an increase in extreme weather events is likely to result as we fail to respond adequately to climate change. Children spend more time outdoors and are physically smaller and less strong than adults. These factors place children at higher risk from extremes of heat and natural disasters such as flooding. Our Maori and Pacific children are especially at risk from climate change," says Dr Jones.

"There is a silver lining to this dark cloud, though. With strong policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are designed to spread costs and benefits equitably across society, there are potential positive spin-offs for our children’s health."

One example given in the paper of such a benefit is housing insulation. Current government programmes to insulate older houses could be improved to ensure the homes of the poorest children are both energy efficient and healthy – decreasing childhood asthma and chest infections which are leading causes of hospital admissions, particularly for Maori and Pacific children.

The child health specialists who wrote this paper are joined by a growing movement of doctors around the world who see climate change as the greatest threat to health facing the world this century.

"Responses to climate change can be designed to help with other goals, including healthier people, a more equal society and a healthier economy," says Dr Jones

ENDS

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