On 6 November, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) took part in a roundtable meeting at the European Parliament office in London to discuss EU preparations for the COP21 UN climate change conference which will take place in Paris in December 2015.
The RCP’s pincipal EU adviser, Paul Belcher, along with sustainability project officer Claire Cantle, joined a range of stakeholders including speakers from the European Parliament, Greenpeace and the Centre for European Reform. The discussion recognised that health was a critical factor in the climate change debate but there was concern that health arguments were not being heard sufficiently loudly in political circles involved in the COP21 talks.
RCP representatives took the opportunity to raise awareness of the College’s sustainability work including the forthcoming report on air pollution to be launched in February next year, as well as RCP membership of the Health Professionals Alliance to Combat Climate Change and the Global Green and Healthy Hospital Network. In 2016 RCP will appoint a Fellow with special responsibility for sustainability issues to further strengthen its work in this area.
Earlier this year, RCP president Jane Dacre welcomed The Lancet’s Commission on Health and Climate, stating:
The clear set of recommendations provided by the Commission show how we can prevent and mitigate the risks to health posed by climate change, and should be considered by governments across the world now.