Some 400 concerned health professionals are taking out a full-page newspaper advert demanding the federal government ban all new coal, gas, and oil to protect public health.
The advert, running today in The Australian features a statement that has been signed by eminent medical figures, such as Professor Nicholas Talley, Professor Karen Flegg, Professor Fran Baum and Dist Prof Tracey Levett-Jones
The initiative has been organised by medical group, Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA).
Says DEA's executive director and GP Dr Kate Wylie, "Coal, gas and oil are the main causes of deadly climate change impacts such as fatal heat and worsening air pollution.
"Australia's health professionals who are on the front line of care are alarmed at the failure to phase out these polluting fossil fuels and to power our cities and industries with plentiful clean energy such as solar and wind.
"We have had repeated warnings by various authoritative bodies telling us that fossil fuels make us sick and that to save lives we need to stop further fossil fuel developments.
"They include the Australian Medical Association, the World Health Organization, the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many others.
"Yet our governments rather than listening to the science are succumbing to fossil fuel interests peddling their dirty product to grow their profits. We need our leaders to put people's health first."
The advert states:
Coal, oil and gas are health hazards.
To the Australian Government, Coal, oil and gas are hazardous to our health and well-being. They are the primary drivers of climate change, which is recognised as the single biggest health threat facing humanity by the World Health Organisation. They cause hazardous air pollution, increasing the rates of asthma, heart disease, cancer, learning delays and poor pregnancy outcomes. To protect the health of the Australian people, we the undersigned health professionals call on our government to ban all new coal, oil and gas projects. We must put the health of the people ahead of the interests of the fossil fuel industry.
