A nationwide health campaign and pledge, titled No Time for Games, is calling on health professional to band together to tackle climate change in order to protect the health of children.
Launched in 2018, the campaign declares children the most vulnerable members of society who stand to lose the most in regard to health if urgent action is not taken to address climate change.
Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), who stated the world has less than 12 years before catastrophic climate change will cause devastating and lasting impacts, No Time for Games is supported by several medical colleges including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), as well as nurses, paediatricians and students.
To date, almost 2,000 health professionals have pledged their support for the campaign.
No Time for Games plans to collate pledges of support from health professionals and present the evidence to government and key policymakers, giving them a clear mandate to act on climate change.
Campaign organisers said health professionals had a duty to speak out and protect the health of children, the nation’s future.
“This campaign takes the politics out of climate change and places health front and centre. Demanding urgent and effective transition to renewable energies away from coal and gas is a clear and straight path, which also has many direct health benefits for our society by reducing air and water pollution,” organisers said.
“But we must act now. There is still time for change, but there is no time for games.”
