The British medical journal The Lancet announced that global fossil fuel dependence has increased health damage from climate change amid multiple global crises, leaving households vulnerable to volatile fossil fuel markets. Countdown to Change’s seventh annual global report reveals that governments and companies continue to pursue strategies that increasingly threaten the health and survival of all people living today and future generations. The health effects of multiple crises are exacerbated by continued dependence on fossil fuels, putting additional pressure on health systems, according to the report. This leads to increased risks of food insecurity, the spread of infectious diseases, heat-related illnesses, energy poverty and death from exposure to air pollution.
Fossil Fuel Finance Of Countries Continues
Fossil fuels continue to be prioritized by governments and companies over clean energy solutions that are detrimental to health. The vast majority of countries surveyed still collectively set aside hundreds of billions of US dollars to subsidize fossil fuels – often comparable to or even greater than the amount earmarked in their total health budgets. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel giants’ current strategies threaten a livable future and cause emissions to exceed international climate targets for minimizing global warming.
Transition To Clean Energy Must Be Accelerated
As countries develop responses to these crises, re-dependence on fossil fuels could expose them to a deadly hotter future. However, a health-centered response can offer an evolving future, if prompt action is taken. Accelerating the transition to clean energy and energy efficiency will help prevent further increases in climate change-related deaths and diseases and deliver rapid health benefits through improved energy access and security, cleaner air, healthier diets and lifestyles, and more liveable cities. Source: Governments and companies continue to invest in fossil fuelsI
