Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA)

Our final Friday catch-up for 2024 is here! Take a look at some of the incredible work our volunteer doctor members have been doing over the past few weeks. All this work happens outside of our member's regular hours on a completely voluntary basis. Their dedication to caring for the health of our people and planet is so inspiring, and we couldn’t be prouder of them. Thank you so much for an incredible year, team. Kate Wylie John Van Der Kallen Lai Heng Foong FACEM Kim Loo Cybele Dey Angie Bone Catherine Pendrey Dr Mike Forrester Laura Beaton Dr Richard Yin

A major part of DEA's advocacy work is ensuring a health perspective is considered in climate change discussions and actions. One avenue for this is writing submissions on key areas, which our dedicated members undertake under the guidance of our Research, Education, and Advocacy Committee. To read all of the submissions authored by Doctors for the Environment Australia's members, head to our website: https://buff.ly/3DxDHOt

Please join us in congratulating Dr Kimberly Humphrey, Dr Kim Loo, Dr Carolyn O.rr, A/Prof Aditya Vyas and Dr Shaun Watson on their election to the board. They will join our continuing board members, Dr Angie Bone, A/Prof Christopher Leung, Dr Caroline Maccallum and our board chair, Professor Nicholas J. Talley, AC, MD, PhD. A heartfelt thank you to our outgoing board members Dr Georgia Brown, Dr Stefanie Pidcock and Dr Richard Yin for your enormous contributions to our governance. A special thank you to our medical student chair Yufei Xu. We look forward to welcoming the next student chair to the board once they are elected.

The increasing frequency of extreme heat events is placing a growing burden on Greater Western Sydney's already overstretched healthcare system. DEA members Dr Kim Loo and Dr Lai Heng Foong FACEM work in the area and are witnessing first-hand the urgent need to improve the climate resilience of their local health system and healthcare facilities. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gPq9FHcx

An important piece in Medical Journal of Australia InSight by DEA's NSW Chair, Dr Shaun Watson: "As doctors, we must use our powerful voices to communicate climate threats and solutions clearly, and demonstrate how deeply we care about addressing the climate impacts on the health of Australians." Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g__JtTFt

At Doctors for the Environment Australia, we know that climate change is the biggest public health threat facing humanity. Today, we are asking for your support to allow us to continue our vital work advocating for climate action to protect health. All donations to DEA go directly to running our organisation so that our volunteer doctors can continue to stand up for the health of our people and the planet. As a charity, we rely on the generosity of our members and supporters in the community to keep going. Thanks to the generosity of two of our doctor members, donations received before midnight this Sunday will be matched to $50,000. This means that your donation will be twice as effective in helping DEA and our advocacy. It will double our capacity to campaign for a healthy planet, and with the next election rumoured to be as soon as March 2025, now is an important time to support DEA and our work. Your donation will enable DEA to campaign in electorates across the country, from Mackellar to Perth, from Kooyong to Sturt. This will ensure that the importance of quitting fossil fuels to protect health is part of the narrative, showing the public and our peers that climate care is health care. With the malign influence of misinformation and climate denial being used to stymie the transition to renewables and increase societal divisions, it is vital that our doctor's voices are part of the conversation. Please consider supporting us by making a tax-deductible donation here: bit.ly/4fUu5M2 Nicholas J. Talley, AC, MD, PhD Dr Kimberly Humphrey Kim Loo Sonia Chanchlani Richard Le Dr Richard Yin Lai Heng Foong FACEM A/Professor Magdalena Simonis AM A.Professor (Dr) Vicki Kotsirilos AM George Crisp Eugenie Kayak Kate Wylie Cybele Dey Angela Evans AM Arthur Wyns Catherine Pendrey Angie Bone Paul Kelly Michelle Isles Madeleine Skellern Georgia Behrens Georgia Brown

Today, in a timely article for the Medical Journal of Australia InSight, DEA members Dr Cybele Dey, Dr Lai Heng Foong FACEM, and Dr Emma Skowronski discuss new research from UNSW Medicine & Health that reveals a troubling link between hot weather and increased suicidal thoughts/behaviours in young Australians. ED visits by young people for suicidal thoughts or behaviours increased by 1.3% for every 1°C rise in daily mean temperature (DMT). These findings relate to young people being physically too hot, not to their emotional response to or understanding of the scientific reality of climate change. Suicide is the leading cause of death in teenagers and young adults in Australia. Evidence-based suicide prevention must consider the clear evidence of increased suicidal thoughts and behaviours with hotter weather, especially given that global temperatures are rising. To protect youth mental health, we must take decisive action on climate change. This means rapidly phasing out fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - and transitioning to clean, renewable energy sources. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gqZt9ByA Psychology for a Safe Climate Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Climate Mental Health Network Climate and Health Alliance Sydney Children's Hospitals Network Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Parents for Climate Sweltering Cities Lifeline Australia

Our Healthy Conversation: Despatches and Dialogue from COP29 is now available to watch in full below! 📺 This Healthy Conversation from COP29 on Health Day provides an opportunity to members of the health delegation who were unable to travel this year to gain insights directly from colleagues who are attending COP29 in person. 💡 A big thank you to Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) for co-convening this Healthy Conversation, as well as Aditya Vyas for hosting and CAHA members Dr Kimberly Humphrey & Cybele Dey for sharing their insights as correspondents on the ground! 👇👇 Michelle Isles Kate Wylie #COP29 #ClimateHealth #HealthyCOP29 https://lnkd.in/g3zanxKx

Each week, our DEA members volunteer countless hours of their time, advocating for climate action to protect health. Here’s a glimpse of some of the amazing things they’ve been up to lately. Nicholas J. Talley, AC, MD, PhD Fiona Foo Lai Heng Foong FACEM Aditya Vyas Climate and Health Alliance Kate Wylie Cybele Dey Dr Kimberly Humphrey A.Professor (Dr) Vicki Kotsirilos AM Justin Bowra Matti Gild Celia Bradford Rebecca Kozor

We were honoured to join forces with our colleagues at the Climate and Health Alliance on #COP29 Health Day, to facilitate discussions on what COP29 means for climate and health. The climate crisis is a health crisis with far-reaching implications for communities and health systems worldwide. It is imperative that our world leaders acknowledge this and address the situation with the urgency it demands. A big thank you to our DEA members, Dr Cybele Dey and Dr Kimberly Humphrey, who tuned in to deliver on-the-ground updates and insights straight from COP29 in Baku. Kate Wylie Michelle Isles Cybele Dey Dr Kimberly Humphrey Aditya Vyas