Climate change and lung health: presidential failure, professional responsibility

• Published in: Thorax Vol. 74; no. 7; pp. 627 - 628
• Main Authors: Hopkinson, Nicholas S, Hart, Nicholas, Jenkins, Gisli, Rosenfeld, Margaret, Smyth, Alan Robert, Wilkinson, Alexander J K, Kaminski, Naftali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society 01.07.2019; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Air Pollution - adverse effects; air quality; Climate Change; Editorial; Fossil Fuels; Government; Greenhouse effect; Humans; Lung Diseases - etiology; National parks; Outdoor air quality; pollution; Trump, Donald J; United States; United States; United States > US; pollution; Climate change; air quality
• ISSN: 0040-6376; 1468-3296
• DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2019-213184

While Americans are responding in ways that can bolster resilience and improve livelihoods, neither global efforts to mitigate the causes of climate change nor regional efforts to adapt to the impacts currently approach the scales needed to avoid substantial damages to the U.S. economy, environment, and human health and well-being over the coming decades.’ Despite being produced by his own government agencies, The President dismissed the National Climate Assessment (NCA) report,8 and has instead appointed climate change deniers and officials with previous connections to the fossil fuel industry to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).9 10 Not only have investments in green energy not been continued, there have been active attempts to undermine the progress that has been achieved by the previous administration. Other ‘deregulations’ include plans to weaken greenhouse gas and fuel economy targets for automobiles and trucks, and the relaxation of rules restricting mercury release by coal-burning power plants.11 Finally, following its plan to increase the availability of fossil fuels, the Trump administration has announced a policy that will allow increased offshore drilling, near and at national parks, a policy that beyond its effects on increasing greenhouse gas emissions, could lead to environmental disasters as happened with recent oil spills from drilling sites.12 It has been estimated that the immediate health effects of the Trump administration’s antienvironmental policies will cost the lives of 80 000 US residents per decade and lead to respiratory problems for more than one million people.13 Despite the Trump Administration’s positions, there are some rays of hope. At the state and regional levels, politicians are finding ways to act on climate change through initiatives such as the United States Climate Alliance which aims to implement policies that will advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, regardless of federal government policies, and the Under2Coalition, an international coalition of state and regional governments committed to keeping global temperature rises to well below 2°C. Similarly, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is led by city mayors all around the world, who are also driving action on air quality and transport.