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Médecins Sans Frontières Australia (MSF) and Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) have written an open letter to all federal election candidates, calling for climate action to protect human health.
As organisations of doctors and humanitarian workers, both our groups are witnessing how climate change affects human health and recognise the importance of strong climate policy to protect us from harm.
We see how communities are being impacted by climate pollution, extreme heat and severe weather. We see how climate crises impact food and water security, the spread of infectious diseases and our ability to provide care. We know that when there is conflict, all these things are made more severe and harder to treat and we are concerned that escalating emissions will not only add to the disease burden but also increase the likelihood of conflict and the ensuing human suffering.
Climate change is caused by our dependence on coal, oil and gas, with over 75% of greenhouse gas emissions coming from these fossil fuels. With 2024 being the hottest year in recorded history and having now breached 1.5℃ average global heating, and to prevent runaway climate change and its health consequences, we need to urgently move on from fossil fuels.
Our elected representatives therefore have a responsibility to ensure the health of our communities by addressing climate change.
Together, DEA and MSF are asking Australians to support candidates who will:
- stop funding fossil fuels and end public coal, oil and gas subsidies;
- invest in renewables, which provide jobs and are cheap, safe and fast to build;
- reject nuclear power because it is costly, poses health and environmental risks, takes too long to build, and slows down the move away from fossil fuels;
- boost climate aid, expanding Australia’s aid budget to support Pacific and global communities’ responses to climate disasters and protect health; and
- adequately fund Australia’s National Health and Climate Strategy, which is our roadmap to ensure that our health system is equipped to handle the challenges that climate change will bring.
MSF is an international, independent medical humanitarian organisation providing health care in more than 70 countries to people affected by conflict, epidemics and disasters. Across our operations, MSF sees how climate change is reshaping the humanitarian and health landscape as we support communities facing the direct and indirect health consequences of a changing climate.
DEA is Australia’s leading medical voice on health and climate, recognising that we need a healthy planet to have healthy people. As clinicians, we see how climate harms are impacting our clinical practice and are treating the impacts of heat, fires, smoke, droughts and severe weather on our physical, psychological and social wellbeing, as well as the associated impacts on health service demand and health infrastructure.
In Australia and across the globe, climate-related crises are becoming more frequent and complex. These impacts are often less visible to decision makers but have serious health consequences. Climate shocks are increasingly intersecting with shifting infectious disease patterns, food insecurity and malnutrition, and the health effects of extreme heat — particularly among vulnerable populations. These pressures are straining fragile health systems, particularly in low-resource and crisis-affected settings where communities are also living with the impacts of conflict, displacement and poverty and where humanitarian access is increasingly restricted.
Globally, responses to the health impacts of climate change remain largely reactive. In many countries, governments and health systems do not yet have the resources or plans to respond to climate-related events or maintain essential health services during disruptions. One of the key barriers is the persistent and widening global climate adaptation finance gap. MSF’s field experience shows how this gap contributes to avoidable service interruptions and worsening health outcomes. Predictable, adequate finance is essential to support care, stability and resilience — particularly in regions facing compounding risks.
Australia, as the third largest fossil fuel exporter, has a responsibility to take strong global, regional and local climate action, including committing to strong domestic emissions reductions through a fast and just transition away from fossil fuel exports. We should strengthen climate finance funding and provide practical support to countries most affected by climate-related health challenges.
The connection between climate and health is established and supported by a growing evidence base. For those of us working in health and humanitarian settings, the impacts are increasingly evident on patients, health systems, and our ability to deliver care.
Political leaders are responsible for acting in the public interest, guided by evidence and grounded in compassion. We also have a responsibility to support those leaders — at all levels of government — who take strong, evidence-based action on climate change and health, and work towards a kinder and more just society.
The time for action is now for the medical community and all of us committed to health equity.
Jennifer Tierney is the executive director for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Australia. During the first 12 months of her tenure, Jennifer has led the development of a new strategic plan. Previously, Jennifer worked with MSF USA as marketing director, and then development director. Jennifer has also worked with MSF as a program coordinator in Pibor, South Sudan and as a program liaison officer in Beirut, Lebanon. Prior to joining MSF Australia, Jennifer was director of fundraising and communications with UNICEF Australia.
Dr Kate Wylie is a GP and the executive director of Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), a not-for-profit advocacy organisation that recognises that human health depends upon a healthy environment. Based in Adelaide, Dr Wylie’s work centres on the need for emissions reduction and the protection of biodiversity to protect human health and on the need for sustainability in health care. Dr Wylie is the immediate past chair of the RACGP’s Climate and Environmental Medicine Specific Interest Group, elevating the need for climate action with GPs across Australia and a previous chair of DEA. In all her work, Dr Wylie applies a medical model to the climate crisis and as such offers a treatment plan for climate change. She seeks to activate her audience so they can help create the paradigm shift that we need to combat the climate crisis.
“Our planet is worth saving, and so are we.”
The statements or opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy of the AMA, the MJA or InSight+ unless so stated.
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