3 June 2019
Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack has welcomed a report from the European Academies Science Advisory Council highlighting the positive impacts that a zero-carbon economy could have on human health in the EU. (1)
Amelia said: “This report highlights the awful health impacts caused by air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. That’s something that the Green Party has been campaigning on for decades, and is finally reaching the attention of other political parties and increasingly, if inadequately, prompting action.
“But this report is crucial in going further in highlighting the positive impacts of a healthier diet with reduced meat intake and increased fruit and vegetables, not just on our wellbeing, but also that of the planet.”
She added:
“The scientists rightly highlight the importance of focusing on the benefits people can enjoy from climate action producing a better quality of life.
“We have to slash our carbon emissions and leave fossil fuels in the ground. It is the science, and the scientists that tell us that.
“But we can use politics to ensure that the decisions we make in ways of doing that benefit all, but particularly the most vulnerable in our societies.”
She concluded: “We have to make sure politics catches up with the science. Declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ is not enough. We need urgent, wideranging action with clear ambitious targets now, starting with ending all new fossil fuel investments, from airport expansion to new roads.”
Notes
(1)The European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is formed by the national science academies of the EU Member States, Norway, and Switzerland, to collaborate in giving advice to European policy-makers. (https://www.easac.eu/)