Opportunities for better health through departing from fossil fuels

Talk by Professor Jonathan Patz, University of Wisconsin

^{3 April 2024 | Monash University, Melbourne}

The Health and Climate Initiative at Monash Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences was proud to showcase visiting Distinguished Professor Jonathan Patz, a renowned climate and health expert, at Monash’s Caulfield Campus on 3rd April 2024.

Professor Karin Leder, who leads the Monash Health and Climate Initiative, hosted the event and introduced Professor Patz, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWS), the current John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment, and the inaugural Director of the Global Health Institute at the University.

Professor Patz has spent the last two months on sabbatical working with the Health and Climate Initiative. He has been based in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine where he has been engaging with academics, researchers, and Faculty leads to build connections and facilitate knowledge exchange between UWS and Monash.

At the April event, Professor Patz presented on a topic close to his heart: about how we can improve health by integrating efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

Professor Patz said: “Climate change is an extremely serious problem from a public health perspective. We can intervene to build resilience to climate disasters, but at the same time, we must address the root problem: greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Policy solutions are available across many sectors that can reduce warming trends, while also benefiting human health. The public and political leaders ultimately need to understand that the climate crisis is a health emergency.”

“20 million people a year die prematurely from fossil fuel usage across three sectors: electric power generation, food systems, and urban transportation. Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels will result in cleaner air, healthier plant-forward diets, and fitness-promoting urban designs that facilitate safe walking and biking, or ‘active transportation’. While far too much focus has been on the upfront costs of clean energy technology, we need to recognize the much larger savings that will accrue from avoided health expenditures.”

“My optimism comes from knowing that the larger the crisis, the greater the opportunity. And we can’t afford not to transition away from our current fossil fuel-dependent societies.”

Professor Patz also launched a new edition of the textbook he co-edited with Barry S. Levy: Climate Change and Public Health while in Australia. The book features 55 leading scholars and practitioners and offers content for students and professionals in health, environmental sciences, working in government, non-governmental organisations, professional associations, and other institutions.

Professor Leder said: “We have been privileged to host Jonathan during his visit to Australia. This has created a wonderful opportunity to share some of the amazing work from our emergent Health and Climate Initiative, learn from Jonathan, and explore opportunities for collaboration between our institutions."