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Thousands of health professionals call on world leaders to prioritize a greener future, post-pandemic
May 28, 2020
An open letter to G20 leaders calls for a ‘#HealthyRecovery’ from the coronavirus pandemic. It’s signed by 350 organisations and over 4,500 individual health professionals from 90 different countries. The signatories cite World Health Organization (WHO) data that air pollution is leading to millions of premature deaths. Pollution has fallen dramatically during pandemic lockdowns and there are now attempts to convince leaders to lock-in environmental gains.
“Seven million premature deaths every year.”
That’s the consequence of business-as-usual economics , according to organizations representing over 40 million individual health professionals from around the world. Air pollution, they add, may have made the coronavirus outbreak worse.
In a letter to leaders of the G20 economies, the signatories urge a cleaner, greener and more equal society to be constructed in the shadow of the pandemic, to reap a potential dividend of almost $100 trillion.
The call comes as a study shows that dramatic CO2 falls in recent months could have little impact on climate change , if countries return rapidly to pre-lockdown ways.
The evidence
“We have witnessed death, disease and mental distress at levels not seen for decades,” the letter says. “These effects could have been partially mitigated, or possibly even prevented by adequate investments in pandemic preparedness, public health and environmental stewardship.”
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