Imagine you are in the resuscitation room, your patient is crashing, and her life is under threat. You need to act now and give her everything you can to save her life.

Now imagine this is happening, but the room is the environment, your patient is earth, and not only is your patient’s life under threat, but so is your own life, and that of everyone you know, and the lives of future generations.

“The lives of future generations depend on what we all do now.”

This is happening. This is climate change.

We must give the earth everything we have, as there is no Planet B, and the lives of future generations depend on what we all do now.

Stop Middle Arm

In August, I travelled to Canberra as ACEM’s representative to join up with over 100 health professionals and parents in the campaign to stop Middle Arm. This campaign, with the slogan “Do no harm – Stop Middle Arm”, demands the federal government stop fracking in the Beetaloo Basin and withdraw its $1.5 billion subsidy for the Middle Arm project on Darwin Harbour.

It started as a grassroots campaign led by a group of paediatricians who were concerned about the health impacts gas fracking and new fossil fuel projects would have on children and future generations.

This strong show of support in person at Parliament House was backed by another 2,300 of our medical colleagues, who signed an open letter to the Prime Minister opposing the project.

It was empowering to be in Canberra with so many like-minded doctors and veterinarians, who understand science and feel the duty of care to warn people of the health impacts if we do not take immediate action.

Do no harm

So why are doctors getting involved with traditionally environmental issues?

“Do no harm” is a central tenet of clinical ethics which all health professionals are familiar with. It can – and should – be applied to climate change.

The evidence of the damaging effects fossil fuels have on our health and our ability to continue inhabiting this planet of ours is already clear. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) emphasises that greenhouse gas emissions need to be halved by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5°C - this is incompatible with establishing new gas projects.

In this setting, it is unconscionable for the government to even consider opening new fossil fuel projects. The key word here is new.

Supporters of the campaign understand the need to transition to a new energy paradigm which places renewable energy at the centre of our power supply — The technology is rapidly expanding for renewable options and better batteries for storage. Acknowledging this, the campaign is simply saying it is negligent to open new fossil projects that will contribute significant additional emissions.

We are bearing witness to untold suffering of communities due to more frequent and severe disasters. We also know of the direct health impacts of gas plants, courtesy of studies from the United States (US).

“It is unconscionable for the government to even consider opening new fossil fuel projects.”

We now know better, so we should do better. And better means no more new fossil fuel projects.

There are already technologies that exist to produce renewable energy at scale, with secure supply and back-up battery storage — Australia has the capacity to be a renewable energy powerhouse. There is no excuse to continue to rely on fossil fuels for our energy, and especially no excuse to start new fossil fuel projects.

I see a parallel in the tobacco industry resisting the increasingly clear evidence that smoking caused lung cancer. The industry was much more powerful in controlling the narrative and had the financial means to keep advertising cigarettes, even though they knew there was information that demonstrated it harmed people.

As health practitioners, we have a duty of care to the community to call out the harmful impact of fossil fuels on their health.

How many warnings do we need?

Since the IPCC was established in 1988, it has been warning the world of the potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change on biodiversity, environment and health. Each year, more is demanded of the IPCC to provide additional evidence for the deleterious effects of climate change.

But there is not the same demand on fossil fuel companies to declare their knowledge of the harms that fossil fuel production and use enact on the environment and health.

“In the last two years alone, we have seen disasters on a scale we have not seen before.”

While the Australian government continues to subsidise fossil fuel industries to the tune of billions of dollars, the Canadian government has already ended inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and plans to end all public financing of the sector.

In the last two years alone, we have seen disasters on a scale we have not seen before. The Northern hemisphere summer saw record heatwaves in many European countries, including Greece, Spain and Italy. Almost 62,000 people died in last year’s European summer heatwave, a number likely to be surpassed this year.

Bushfires have been burning for months in Canada, with smoke billowing towards the US, causing increased ED presentations with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, just like our Black Summer fires did in 2019 in Australia. This year was the hottest month of July ever recorded, and the images of the bushfires that swept across Hawaii, causing destruction and anguish in its wake, are etched in our memories forever.

Following destructive floods in Pakistan in 2022, severe thunderstorms are now also wreaking havoc in many parts of the US. Sea water temperature in South Florida exceeded 38°C in July this year, likely setting a world record for warmest recorded seawater temperature. Warmer water is fuel for hurricanes, which we are witnessing now.

The pressing issue is: tipping points have already been reached, with domino effects on our environment, and our health and wellbeing.

Just as climate scientists have warned us, are we prepared? How many warnings do we need before our government, who is supposed to protect us, takes the steps to stop new fossil fuel projects, before we take collective action to stop the destruction facilitated by unchecked climate chaos?

The College’s history with climate change

ACEM was the first medical college to declare a Climate Emergency. We did this at our ASM in Hobart in November 2019. We marched in Hobart, a gathering of hundreds, to highlight the health impacts of climate change, and urgently call for action.

“We are not stuck in the vortex of an unliveable, unsurvivable world.”

We developed our Environmental Strategy and formulated an Environmental Action Plan. The COVID-19 pandemic did shift our priorities a bit, but we continued to work in the background.

The College appointed a Sustainability Officer to spearhead change within the college, while the Public Health and Disaster Committee of ACEM continued to advocate for the climate in work addressing sustainable healthcare, as well as submissions to Parliamentary inquiries on Bushfires, Air Pollution and the National Health and Climate Strategy.

The future?

We are not stuck in the vortex of an unliveable, unsurvivable world. As the climate scientist, Katharine Hayhoe states, “…every bit of warming matters, and every action and every choice matters, too.”

I have hope that with concerted actions from all sectors of society, especially big, bold moves from government, we can start heading to a future that is more sustainable — One where we can thrive, and not just survive.

The energy I felt in Canberra with collective action in recognition we are all in this together was powerful. United, we can actually face this challenge – the greatest public health threat we have faced – together. Just as health professionals did in our fight with Big Tobacco, we need to galvanise our profession to defend our patients, our community, from the harms of the Big Fossil Fuel industry.

“United, we can actually face this challenge – the greatest public health threat we have faced – together.”

Beyond the camaraderie, there was also validation of what we are doing, and the overwhelming generosity of the dedication and effort to do the right thing. When we collectively get together towards a common goal, people sit up and listen. Hopefully, it will drive change that is urgently needed now.

This is a call to health care practitioners to increase our health advocacy – not to be louder, but to be more effective and more strategic.

When we know what is coming in terms of climate change-induced health impacts, it is beholden on us to spread the word. We need to act now at many levels to resuscitate the planet and protect our wellbeing.