MEDIA STATEMENT
13 March 2019

Health professionals are pledging their support for school students around New Zealand who will be striking this Friday to call for meaningful action on climate change.

“As health professionals we know that climate change is already affecting the wellbeing of children and young people,” says Dr Alex Macmillan, Co-convenor of OraTaiao: The NZ Climate and Health Council.

“For as long as adults in leadership and government fail to act adequately to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we will support school students to strike in protection of their own futures.”

Striking at the heart of the issue. Dr Alex Macmillan. Otago Daily Times, 11 March 2019.

Children are going on strike over their health and wellbeing while schools are still burning coal. More here.

OraTaiao submission, 5 March 2019

'Climate change is increasingly recognised as the biggest global health threat of the 21st Century, as well as the greatest opportunity to improve health. As senior doctors, nurses and other health professionals, we are advocating on behalf of our patients and communities. One of our strategic priorities is to: “Demonstrate leadership in achieving a climate-resilient net zero emissions health sector”.'

'Procurement contracts are a powerful tool to leverage action on climate change and as New Zealand is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, the success of New Zealand’s obligations will hinge on precisely such measures as government procurement rules.'

Read the submission here (PDF).

Wellington, 16 February 2019, 9am-3.30pm
We are holding our 2-yearly Strategic Planning Meeting at the medical school in Wellington on Saturday 16 February. All members are welcome to attend and provide input. We will use the day to develop OraTaiao’s strategic direction and priorities for the next two years (2019-2021). As well as that, it is a great (and relatively rare) chance to catch up face-to-face. We will begin with morning tea at 9am for a 9.30am start. Members please check your emails for details of how to join in person or by video/teleconference.

MEDIA STATEMENT
18 January 2018

New Zealand health professionals are applauding a landmark report that outlines how to achieve healthy and sustainable eating patterns for a future global population of 10 billion people.

The report was produced by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health – a partnership between a global non-profit group and one of the world’s leading medical journals. It is the product of three years of work by 37 international experts working across a range of scientific disciplines.

Article on how Māori communities are facing up to threats of coastal erosion and flooding as a result of climate change, with comments from Dr Rhys Jones, OraTaiao Co-convenor. Read here.

Article on the Lancet Countdown 2018 report with quotes from Co-convenor Dr Rhys Jones. Read here.

MEDIA STATEMENT
29 November 2018

A newly released report highlights that climate change poses an unacceptably high level of risk for the health of populations around the world.

The 2018 Lancet Countdown report, released today ahead of the international climate change negotiations, was jointly authored by leading doctors, academics and policy professionals from 27 organisations. It tracks the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the associated health threats and opportunities.

“The report shows that our lack of progress threatens both human lives and the viability of national health systems they depend on,” says Dr Rhys Jones, Co-convenor of OraTaiao: The NZ Climate and Health Council.

Article on State of Public Health lecture given by Co-convenors Dr Alexandra Macmillan and Dr Rhys Jones. Read here. 

MEDIA RELEASE
8 October 2018

Health professionals are intensifying calls for urgent emissions reduction in response to a report released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The special report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, is the most comprehensive scientific assessment ever made of climate change. The report says 1.5°C is possible, but rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society are now needed. “The report makes it very clear that we must act urgently to keep global warming under 1.5°C for the sake of our health,” says Dr Alex Macmillan, Co-convenor of OraTaiao: The NZ Climate and Health Council.

MEDIA RELEASE
28 September 2018

OraTaiao welcomes the government’s amendment bill to stop offering new oil permits as a sound decision for NZ’s economy and our health. This bill is a step in the right direction to protect the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders and meet our Paris obligations.

“It’s very clear that almost all the oil, gas and coal we already know about needs to stay in the ground - they can’t be burnt because of the implications for climate change and human health. This makes further exploration foolish,” said Dr Alex Macmillan, Co-convenor of OraTaiao: NZ Climate and Health Council after the introduction of the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill on Monday.

Editorial by Dr Alex Macmillan and Dr Rhys Jones. The New Zealand Medical Journal 31 August 2018, Vol 131 No 1481. Read here.

Article by Dr Hayley Bennett and Dr Paula King. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 31 August 2018, Vol 131 Number 1481. Read here.

Liz Springford letter. Discusses OECD report on the economic consequences of climate change. The Dominion Post, 31 July 2018.

Read here. 

Interview with Dr Rhys Jones and anaesthetist Dr Matthew Jenks. New Zealand Anaesthesia: The Magazine of the NZ Society of Anaesthetists, August 2018. Read here.

MEDIA RELEASE
9 August 2018

A report released this week on the dangers of heading towards “Hothouse Earth” makes it clear that climate change is now a public health emergency.

'Just as we would react to the threat of pandemic, we need to speed up our efforts to tackle emissions and protect health,' says Dr Rhys Jones, Co-convenor of OraTaio: The NZ Climate and Health Council.

The report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, states, 'the Earth System may be approaching a planetary threshold that could lock in a continuing, rapid pathway towards much hotter conditions — Hothouse Earth.'

OraTaiao submission, 19 July 2018

Dr Andrea Forde, Dr Scott Metcalfe, and policy analyst Liz Springford, set out the importance of tackling climate change. Read here.