March 21, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact
Jessica Mengistab
Program Manager, Climate & Clean Energy Advocacy
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
jessica@envirn.org
(732) 336-1606
According to UN, Time Running Out to Address Worsening Climate Impacts
Switzerland — Yesterday, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth report, considered one of its most conclusive reports to date. Formed in 1988, the IPCC is the internationally accepted authority on climate change with its findings endorsed by all member states of the UN and leading climate scientists. With a renewed call to action, the IPCC Synthesis Report highlights that stopping climate change is still possible but that our window of opportunity to do so is closing fast. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, gave opening comments announcing “The climate time bomb is ticking.” Secretary Guterres declared the IPCC report as “ a survival guide for humanity as it shows the 1.5° limit is achievable but it will take a quantum leap in climate action…our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once.”
The IPCC announced there are opportunities to avoid further more devastating impacts only if meaningful action starts now. While we are already experiencing 1.1°C of warming, at 1.5°C, more people will be at risk from extreme heat and severe weather events. These impacts from warming will escalate dramatically when warming exceeds 1.5°C with increased human and health costs. Yesterday’s IPCC press event opened with a video noting “we are not on track to limit warming to 1.5°C or even 2.0°C.”
Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN issued the following statement: “We know that this is the IPCC’s final plan of action that we will receive while we still have the opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5°C. These next few years are critical to ensuring a livable future for generations to come. We can no longer escape the health impacts of climate change. The most vulnerable, those who have contributed the least to the problem are being hit the hardest. We know that particularly low-income communities, communities of color, and mid-low income nations are suffering already devastating effects from climate change. Any additional investment in fossil fuels amounts will continue to drive up the costs of global warming.
“Today, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) is calling on all policymakers, businesses, leaders and decision makers to embrace the report’s findings and pursue ambitious climate solutions driven by impacted communities that will improve human health. These solutions include phasing out fossil fuels, investing in renewable energy, and halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.”
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The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is the only national nursing organization focused solely on the intersection of health and the environment. The mission of the Alliance is to promote healthy people and healthy environments by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating evidence-based practice, and influencing policy.
