In his Comment which opens the Lancet Series on Health and Climate Change, Lancet Editor Dr Richard Horton cautions against putting too much pressure and too many hopes on the Copenhagen Climate Change meeting. He says: "By suggesting that Copenhagen is the 'last chance' for a binding international climate change agreement, anything less will seem a failure. Copenhagen is a beginning, not the end."
He adds: "Copenhagen is a starting pistol making the beginning of concerted high-level political negotiations. After Copenhagen, there can be no turning back. And as these negotiations proceed, health is likely to become an increasing important concern, not only for a public anxious about the impact of climate-change mitigation policies on their lives, but also for politicians eager to sweeten the climate-change policy pill."
He concludes: "This latest report aims to accelerate political and public assent for large cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. It indicates the contribution of science and public health to one of the greatest predicaments facing human and non-human life. That contribution now needs to be embraced fully by health professionals and medical scientists worldwide."
The Lancet Press Office. T) +44 (0) 20 7424 4949 E) pressoffice@lancet.com
For full Comment, see: http://press.thelancet.com/tlhaccrh.pdf
Journal
The Lancet