People are tired of apocalyptical messages on the climate crisis when a much more positive approach should highlight multiple health benefits from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to Dr Maria Neira, assistant director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Addressing a conference in Dublin on “creating a healthy environment for all”, she said changing the approach and revising communication tactics would unlock “an incredible opportunity”, especially in the context of 25 per cent of the global disease burden linked to environmental risk factors.
The causes of some 13 million deaths a year due to the environment are “modifiable” and therefore could be avoided, which would dramatically reduce suffering and the chronic disease burden on hospitals and other health services, she told the conference hosted by the EPA, HSE and the ESRI.
The “triple win” is improvement in the health of people, an economic return and reducing the causes of climate change, she said.
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With 7 million premature deaths a year from air pollution, Dr Neira said she could not understand why the scale of response did not match the extent of the problem.
She agreed that the fundamental problem was “there is no glory in prevention”.
“I’m afraid this is true. As soon as you have a vaccine treatment, there is little recognition; everybody forgets about it,” she explained.
The same applies to getting rid of lead in fossil fuels, removing asbestos or addressing diarrheal disease. “We don’t have our citizens saying every morning, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’. We need to figure out how to give glory again,” she said.
This should entail, she suggested, reinforcing how health is advancing and reminding people of the benefits of primary prevention and early detection of disease.
The message should underline health benefits from reducing emissions; having sustainable food systems – addressing over-use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and deforestation – and adopting healthy urban planning, Dr Neira said.
Health and wellbeing specialist with the European Environment Agency (EEA) Gerardo Sanchez said success hinged on the way people are reached with the simple message that “healthy environments support healthy lives”.
The EEA issued recently an online “health atlas” so that Europe’s citizens have easy access to environmental data and become more engaged, rather than thinking about the consequences of air pollution “now and then”. It addresses a multiplicity of issues including “how is the air quality where you live, what about noise levels?”.
The online platform presents data and information in a user-friendly way on how pollution and other environmental risks affect the health and wellbeing of Europeans, “and how environmental assets protect us”.
By far the most successful element is a “check your place” widget including latest data on air quality (particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone) where users live, noise levels on local roads, the quality of nearby bathing water, the location of green space to relax, and public transport options, he said.
Beyond raising awareness of health and wellbeing benefits, the tool also led to the public putting pressure on governments for policy enhancements, Mr Sanchez said.
EPA director general Laura Burke said that while pollution was responsible for one in 10 premature deaths every year and more than 10 per cent of cancers, “the upside is, these are things that we can take action on. We are not passive observers.”
Although Ireland is compliant with EU air quality standards, it is not meeting more stringent WHO guidelines; “this is where the aspiration should be,” said Ms Burke.
The new clean air strategy set a 2040 target for that to be achieved, but that is a long time away and immediately implementable actions should be identified, she said, adding that it is important to be conscious that poor air quality affects the less well-off and more vulnerable in society.
A “clean air together” project with An Taisce involved 2,000 citizen scientists in Dublin and Cork monitoring pollutants on their doorstep, notably nitrogen dioxide – and would soon be extended to Galway, she confirmed.
Next to air quality, environmental noise is taking a toll; causing 40,000 new cases of heart disease annually in Europe and 11,000 premature deaths. Some 18 million people are impacted by transport noise, while 5 million have their sleep disrupted.
Proactive management of noise brings tangible health benefits, especially the provision of designated quiet areas in high-population areas. Local authorities should be increasingly designating and protecting quiet areas in their jurisdiction, Ms Burke said.
While 99.7 per cent of public drink water supplies are compliant with EU standards in Ireland, there is an issue around cancer-causing trihalomethanes which need to be removed from supplies, she said. In addition, carcinogenic PFAs – also known as forever chemicals – are ubiquitous in Irish waters, and need to be removed. A programme to remove lead from old pipelines over the next 25 years is “far too long” in her view.
Those who consume water from private supplies in Ireland are 10 times more likely to be impacted by E.coli compared to a public supply, she pointed out. Grants are not being taken up, so the barriers to bringing water up to sufficient stand must be identified.
Just because people live in the countryside, as opposed to a town, should not mean they have to have water of insufficient standard, Ms Burke said.
She said climate change was impacting already on daily lives in Ireland with increased weather extremes, air pollution and vector-borne illnesses due to elevated temperatures. With every small increase in temperature, this would become more difficult to manage.
While bathing waters are of high standard, local authorities need to designate more swimming areas so they could be monitored – especially as more people are swimming all year round.
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Asked about Ireland’s rising emissions profile and whether aviation (not addressed in the Government’s climate plan) and economic growth were the elephants in the room, EPA director Micheál Lehane said the EPA had consistently highlighted the need for a fundamental change in approach dating back to 2012, to decouple environmental degradation from production, consumption and economic activity.
This required moving to a sustainable model for the environment, while reinforcing the positive impacts on the health of the Irish population, he said.
