Climate policies can have ‘consequences’ for health

CLIMATE action can have “unintended consequences” for health including Lyme disease and stress owing to unemployment, experts have warned.

A report by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society said that tackling climate change would improve people’s health and reduce pressure on the NHS, but that policies needed to be managed and more research carried out on possible negative side-effects.

If city dwellers in England and Wales walked an average of 1km more and cycled an average of 3km farther each day, the number of patients suffering heart disease, strokes and diabetes owing to inactivity would be dramatically reduced, saving the NHS £17 billion over 20 years, the authors said.

Improving the natural environment will suck up carbon and improve people’s health, but measures such as rewilding can also “increase human-animal conflict” and introduce diseases to areas, the report said.

“Assessment of potential negative consequences, such as increased allergies or changes in the distribution of diseases such as Lyme disease, are important to ensure that the health benefits are maximised,” the authors said.

“A move away from old carbon industries such as oil and gas towards new green jobs could cause short-term disruption – triggering unemployment in some regions and sectors, with associated stress and ill health.

“Developing a long-term vision for green jobs, with a focus on well-being and health and safety, as well as support for regions and sectors where this will be felt hardest, could ease the transition.”

While encouraging people to eat more vegetables and less red meat would reduce obesity and help tackle climate change, it could also “affect the livelihoods of those involved in the production”, the report said.

“Fashionable food trends can also place significant pressure on the environment. For example, the increased consumption of almond milk has been associated with severe environmental damage and drought and increasing palm and coconut oil consumption has contributed to deforestation,” it added.

Prof Joanna Haigh CBE, co-chairman of the report, told a press briefing yesterday she hoped the findings would provide “significant motivation for Government action on climate change”.

She said: “The presidency of Cop26 provides a massive opportunity for the UK not only to stimulate action on climate change but to provide measurable improvements in public health.”