Thread by @HealthyFuturez

The long-awaited State of the Environment report dropped a couple of hours ago, and it's now obvious why it wasn't released before the election.

But what's all this got to do with our health? A 🧵...
#auspol #npc

Every day, tens of thousands of healthcare workers across Australia help keep people healthy through treatment, advice and care. But while healthier lifestyles can reduce your risk of disease or death, the health impacts from our environment have to be tackled societally

The State of the Environment report reveals that mortality from exposure to air pollution is increasing, with 2,556 deaths per year (that's far more than the annual road toll)

Air pollution comes from a combination of mostly invisible and toxic gases and particles, caused by burning fuels including coal, oil, gas and wood by industries and in the home. Children, the elderly and pregnant people are most vulnerable to its effects.

The report cites Australian studies that show air pollution is associated with increases in cardiorespiratory mortality and morbidity, all-cause mortality, birth outcomes, asthma, reduced lung function and atopy.

The report details recent research that has been carried out from the Hazelwood mine fire, revealing increased respiratory symptoms and reduced lung function in both children and adults years after the fire.

Compared to previous years, the report is unusually direct with recommendations. For example, it makes the case for air quality guidelines to be coupled with an exposure reduction approach for managing industrial and domestic emissions, and a ban on wood heaters in cities

The report also points out that mercury levels near power stations in the Latrobe Valley are significantly higher, and that widely used mercury controls for power stations are available in Australia, but not yet required. Australia has now signed the global mercury treaty.

The report makes it abundantly clear that the health impacts of the climate crisis are being felt right now. For example, the smoke Black Summer bushfires caused an estimated 417 deaths and 2,027 respiratory hospital admissions, at a $1.95 billion cost.

The report says heatwaves kill more Australians than any other natural disaster, and also contribute to deaths particularly among the elderly. It cites a study finding that heatwaves contributed to 1.7 million deaths in Australia over a ten-year period.

Climate change is also increasing the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as bushfires, changes in rainfall influencing droughts and floods, and causing sea-level rises which contribute to food insecurity. These all impact our health.

Every year from 2013 to 2020 was among the ten hottest years on record, fuelling a dangerous increase in extreme heat days across Australia.
We need rapid reductions in greenhouse emissions this decade to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

The report makes it abundantly clear that First Nations people experience the worst impacts of air pollution, environmental decline and the climate crisis despite doing the least to contribute.
First Nations communities and Indigenous knowledge are central to recovery.

Tackling these problems requires concerted and immediate action by all levels of government.
That has to include moving to renewable energy by 2030, adopting the WHO clean air guidelines, and considering climate impacts in decision-making

The increasing mortality from air pollution in Australia also is a reason why improved pollution standards for industry in NSW in 2025 and 2030 will be brought in in the next six weeks as part of the review of the Clean Air regulation.

The new standards are still up to four times weaker than the European limits and won't come into effect for years.
Yet big polluters like @AGLAustralia and @originenergy are trying to protect a loophole that would allow special exemptions from the clean air law

@AGLAustralia @originenergy It's critical that NSW Environment Minister James Griffin puts the health of communities first and rules out exemptions.

@AGLAustralia @originenergy Federal environment minister @tanya_plibersek told the #NPC she would respond this year to the review of Australia's failing environmental law, consider a climate trigger, introduce targets and standards and include environmental outcomes in federal budgets.

@AGLAustralia @originenergy @tanya_plibersek Far more is needed to protect our health - we need to move as quickly as possible from a polluting present to a healthy future.

The State of the Environment report also says that Australia has the *highest* per capita emissions of toxic sulphur and nitrogen oxide pollution in the OECD. Reigning this in should be a priority - those pollutants form fine particulates that can affect every organ in the body.