Vet Journal joins in united call for emergency action on climate
The British Veterinary Association’s journal Vet Record has joined medical, nursing, veterinary, and public health journals across the world in publishing an editorial calling for world leaders to take emergency action to transform societies and limit climate change, restore biodiversity, and protect health.
Alongside Vet Record, the editorial will be published in over 200 leading journals, including The Lancet, the East African Medical Journal, the Chinese Science Bulletin, the New England Journal of Medicin and The British Medical Journal.
The editorial is being published in advance of the UN General Assembly, one of the last international meetings taking place before the (COP26) climate conference in Glasgow, in November.
Vet Record editor Suzanne Jarvis said: “There is now a global emergency but cataclysmic climate change is not inevitable; however, changes need to be made urgently. Vet Record, along with numerous other healthcare journals from around the world, have published a commentary piece as a call for action.
‘Happy to sign up’
“The commentary is written by a number of human medical health journal editors and health climate change experts, so does have a focus on human healthcare systems and how these need to change. However, it doesn’t take much to extrapolate what they are saying to the veterinary arena. Because of this Vet Record was happy to sign up to the call to support this initiative when invited – that of doing more – and soon – to limit increasing global temperatures.”
The editorial warns that while recent targets to reduce emissions and conserve nature are welcome, they are not enough and are yet to be matched with credible short and longer term plans. It urges governments to intervene to transform societies and economies, for example by supporting the redesign of transport systems, cities, production and distribution of food, markets for financial investments, and health systems.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said: “The risks posed by climate change could dwarf those of any single disease. The COVID-19 pandemic will end, but there is no vaccine for the climate crisis. The IPCC report shows that every fraction of a degree hotter endangers our health and future. Similarly, every action taken to limit emissions and warming brings us closer to a healthier and safer future.”
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