Reacting to a major new Commission report, published today in the Lancet, warning that the threat to human health from climate change is so great that it could undermine the last fifty years of gains in development and global health, Friends of the Earth’s head of policy Mike Childs said: “When health professionals shout ‘emergency’, politicians everywhere should listen.
“Already tens of thousands of lives are lost in the UK every year because of foot-dragging on climate change – radical action is urgently required to avoid catastrophe.
“The Government must end its cheer-leading for fossil fuels by stopping fracking, and make the UK a world leader in energy efficiency and renewable power.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. Lancet: http://www.thelancet.com/commissions/climate-change
2. Over 25,000 people die prematurely in the UK due to particulate air pollution from burning fossil fuels, and around 8,000 from failure to insulate homes adequately, as a result of “foot-dragging” on climate change.
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