As with tobacco shares before, medical institutions should follow the British Medical Association’s lead and divest from oil, coal and gas
London, UK — The health sector must phase out its investments in the fossil fuel industry, with air pollution from fossil fuels being responsible for approximately 5% of all UK deaths [1], argues a new report published today by leading UK health NGOs.
The ‘Unhealthy Investments’ report warns that investment in the fossil fuel industry is incompatible with health organisations’ moral and professional responsibilities to address these direct health implications, and the longer-term health impacts of climate change.
Last year, representative members of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted to end its investments in the fossil fuel industry and increase investment in renewable energy, because of the serious health threat posed by air pollution from coal, oil and gas. Air pollution, the majority of it from fossil fuel combustion, accounts for 29,000 early deaths in the UK each year. [2]
In doing so, the BMA joined the 180 other institutions, with total investments worth over $50 billion, to divest from fossil fuels last year. Many members of the health community are now calling on other health organisations to divest, as they have already done from tobacco, on the basis of these health risks. The sums in question are not trivial: the Wellcome Trust, for example, has holdings of £450 million in just four of the major fossil fuel extraction companies.
Dr David McCoy, chair of health charity Medact, said: “The link between fossil fuels, air pollution-related and climate change are clear, and the impacts are unacceptably high. This report sends an unequivocal message to the health sector that it must end any financial association with these industries.”
“We need a radically different and more sustainable pattern of energy production and consumption. Shifting money away from the fossil fuel industry is an important step in that direction. It’s time for the health community, through organisations such as the Royal Colleges and the Wellcome Trust, to lead the way.”
The findings build on growing evidence of the human health costs of air pollution and of climate change, both of which are primarily caused by fossil fuel combustion. Moreover, many analysts now consider the current value of fossil fuel stocks to be artificially inflated by ‘unburnable’ carbon reserves – oil, coal and gas that, although currently listed on stock exchanges, cannot be burned whilst also avoiding catastrophic climate change.
The report describes the urgency of a transition towards clean energy, both to reduce these short-term health impacts, and to safeguard the health of future generations.
Alistair Wardrope, student doctor and co-author of the report, said: “People worldwide are already dying as a result of the health impacts of fossil fuels, but tomorrow’s doctors will have to cope with the full extent of climate change’s health cost. We have a responsibility to our future patients to ensure that health organisations are not funding what has been described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.”
Writing in the report, Professor Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “The UK health profession led the way in the tobacco divestment movement two decades ago, putting the issue firmly on the political agenda, strengthening public understanding of the risks, and paving the way for stronger anti-tobacco legislation. This report shows why, in 2015, fossil fuels can no longer be considered an ethical investment. This is one of the defining challenges of our time.”
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Contact
Alistair Wardrope, National Coordinator, Healthy Planet, healthyplanet@medsin.org, +44 7772 308377
Dr David McCoy, Director, Medact, chair@medact.org, +44 7952 597244
Notes to Editors
The ‘Unhealthy Investments’ report is co-published by a coalition of health professionals’ and medical students’ organisations including the Climate and Health Council, Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, Medact, Healthy Planet UK, and Medsin. The launch was marked by a panel event featuring experts in sustainable healthcare, ethical investment, and energy policy on the evening of February 3rd. A copy of the report and appendices are available online at www.unhealthyinvestments.uk.
This initiative builds on a growing social movement for a fossil-free future and is taking place just prior to Global Divestment Day on February 13-14th, organised by the Fossil Free campaign globally, in which some of the organisations who have co-published this report will be taking part. The Fossil Free campaign argues that there is an ethical case for divestment, and over 180 universities, faith groups, pension funds and philanthropies worldwide have already committed to divest. For more information about the concept of unburnable carbon mentioned in the press release, please see Carbon Tracker’s influential report (or contact Carbon Tracker’s media manager, Stefano Ambrogi at sambrogi@carbontracker.org).
[1] Public Health England (PHE). (2014) PHE-CRCE-010: Estimating Local Mortality Burdens associated with Particulate Air Pollution. http://www.thehealthwell.info/
[2] 350.org 2014 year In Review: 350.org/2014-review
Medact is a London-based health charity designed to enable health professionals to act on the social, political, ecological and economic determinants of health and health inequality. It was founded in 1992 and grew out of the medical peace movement. It has a membership of 900 health professionals who are committed to seeing health through the lens of social justice.
Healthy Planet is a network of students and young people across the UK who are passionate about the relationship between global environmental change and health. It was founded in 2006 and is an affiliate of the student health network Medsin.
The Climate and Health Council is an organisation of doctors, nurses and other health professionals who recognise the urgent need to address climate change to protect health. It works towards a world where the impacts of climate change on health are understood and tackled in a way that improves the public’s well-being.
The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare was set up in 2008 to help the NHS fulfil its duty (under the Climate Change Act 2008) to reduce its carbon footprint by 80% by 2050. It is now the foremost institution in the world working on sustainable healthcare in research and practice. The Centre’s main focus is on finding ways to mainstream sustainability so that it is integral to the planning of health systems and the practice of healthcare professionals.
Medsin is a student network and registered charity which seeks to tackle global and local health inequalities through education, advocacy and community action. They have over 30 branches in universities across the UK, many nationally run activities and several nationally-run working groups.