Copenhagen Summit to Have Impact on Global Health

On Dec. 7, the United Nations will host a climate change summit in Copenhagen to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. This summit will try to lower the global emission of greenhouse gases, increase global development, and increase global health, said Sir Andrew Haines, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The policies being established at the summit will have a direct impact on global health. Recent articles in medical journals suggest that global health should play a role in the upcoming climate discussion. Dr. Margaret Chan, director of the World Health Organization, said, "As this series shows, cutting greenhouse gas emissions can represent a mutually reinforcing opportunity to reduce climate change and improve public health." There are a number of changes that can be implemented to increase global health. More low carbon transport systems should be employed such as cycling or walking, as such changes would reduce pollution and physical inactivity, reports the BBC. Reducing the amount of livestock and meat consumption would also improve people's health by lowering the ingestion of saturated fats and lowering the emission of greenhouse gases in to the atmosphere. Agriculture is responsible for 10 to 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Accordingly, agricultural production should be reduced by 30 percent to have a positive impact on climate change, meaning a lower consumption of meat and farming, according to the BBC. Low emission stoves should also be used in low-income houses instead of burning fuels indoors. This switch would decrease pollution within homes, and decrease the negative effects on children. Decreasing fossil fuel dependent electricity will also lower pollution and therefore decrease the number of premature deaths due to heart and lung damage, according to the BBC. Professor Kirk Smith of the School of Public Heath at the University of California published a study concluding that greenhouse pollutants can damage the heart and lungs of those people affected. This December, 192 of the worlds leading nations will take part in the Copenhagen Summit to try and slow down the effects humans are having on global warming. This summit is by no means a final solution: "Copenhagen is a beginning, not the end," said Haines.