The Lancet Countdown down under: tracking progress on health and climate change in Australia

Zhang, Ying; Beggs, Paul J

doi:10.5694/mja17.01245

Topics

Australia is set to join a global initiative to track progress on health and climate change

When it comes to climate change and human health, Australia has, in many respects, an impressive track record. The late Professor Tony McMichael led the international community in research and advocacy on this issue.1,2 In 2016, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Climate Change and Health Working Party released position statements on climate change and health and the health benefits of mitigating climate change.3,4 Scientific articles on Australian health and climate change have been published since the mid-1990s, including in the MJA.5

1 University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW
2 Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW

Correspondence: ying.zhang@sydney.edu.au

Acknowledgements:

We acknowledge the current team members who are developing the Australian countdown report.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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2. McMichael A, Githeko A, Akhtar R, et al. Human health. In: McCarthy JJ, Canziani OF, Leary NA, et al, editors. Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
3. Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Climate change and health: position statement. Sydney: RACP, 2016.
4. Royal Australasian College of Physicians. The health benefits of mitigating climate change: position statement. Sydney: RACP, 2016.
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10. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Paris Agreement. http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php (viewed Dec 2017).
11. International Energy Agency. IEA Atlas of Energy: CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion. http://energyatlas.iea.org/#!/tellmap/1378539487/4 (viewed Feb 2018).

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