16th September 2022
UK climate and health experts have come together to launch a series of recommendations for boosting human health in tandem with combatting climate change, following a major UN Report highlighting the dire risk to human mental and physical health because of global warming – and the devastation to nature and biodiversity that it brings.
Experts at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London collaborated with the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change on the 9 key tips for improving your own health and that of the planet, issues that are tightly intertwined.
The 9 tips for aiding human health in conjunction with planetary health, published as an online feature, animation and leaflet include:
- Calling with others on elected officials to provide infrastructure such as grants so individuals can make changes eg to switch to electric vehicles and green energy systems;
- For those who can to walking and cycling more, as air pollution contributes to 40,000 deaths per year in the UK;
- insulating your home if possible, as illness related to cold, damp homes cost the NHS £895m per year;
- protecting natural spaces eg through beach cleans, tree planting or litter picking, as time in nature can also alleviate mental health issues exacerbated by climate change.
Graphics and animations created by Fat Panda.