NationTalk: In the latest report on Canada for the Lancet’s Countdown on health and climate change, authors call for urgent investment, increased infrastructure and additional personnel to meet current and future climate adaptation needs. Since 2015, the federal government has spent $6.6 billion on 70 climate change adaptation Opens in a new window actions. The report argues that Canada needs increased funding to deal with rapidly growing threats like wildfires and droughts, especially to marginalized and Indigenous populations.
The climate crisis is a health crisis. Every heatwave, flood and wildfire is a reminder that our health systems need to be climate-resilient — and right now, they aren’t even close.
Dr. Joss Reimer, CMA President
A blueprint for climate-resilient health systems and communities was set out by contributors — including the Canadian Medical Association Opens in a new window (CMA) — to the 2022 National Adaptation Strategy Opens in a new window. But progress toward the 2030 goals laid out in this strategy has been slow, even as Canada warms twice as fast as the rest of the planet.
The Lancet Countdown: 2024 Climate and Health Policy Priorities for Canada Opens in a new window, supported by the CMA, the Canadian Public Health Association and the Canadian Nurses Association, recommends the establishment of a sustainable, national health care secretariat to hold governments to account for key targets. Among them is ensuring all northern and Indigenous communities have the resources to develop, or have access to, culturally appropriate tools and information to address climate risks.
The policy brief also recommends:
Funding to empower health professionals as climate advocates
Health professionals are among the most trusted sources of credible news about the health system. Yet the report says medical education on the intersections between health, climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss remains inadequate. The report calls for Health Canada to fund organizations that develop and guide medical curricula to help speed up the implementation of planetary health education in Canada.
Shifting hospital menus toward locally sourced, plant-rich foods
A study by a Quebec hospital found that red meat accounted for one-third of its emissions but made up only 3% of its menu. The report suggests that Canadian hospitals use their purchasing power ($4 billion a year on food services) to support locally sourced, plant-rich foods. The switch would help reduce their greenhouse gas footprint by one-quarter by 2030 while promoting a healthier diet for hospital staff and inpatients.