Page 21 - 29NOV2019E-4

ELECTION 2018
HEALTH

the health profile of current and future generations, V cholera environmental suitability in coastal areas.
will challenge already overwhelmed health systems, The carbon intensity of the energy system will need
and undermine progress towards the UN Sustainable to reduce to near zero by 2050. Over the past 15 years,
Development Goals (SDGs) and universal health carbon intensity has largely plateaued, as the growth
coverage (UHC). of low-carbon energy has been insufficient to displace
The health effects of wildfires range from direct fossil fuels. Coal phase-out is essential, not only as a
thermal injuries and death, to the exacerbation of key measure to mitigate climate change, but also to
acute and chronic respiratory symptoms due to reduce morbidity and mortality from air pollution.
exposure to wildfire smoke. Additionally, the global As of December 2018, 30 national governments,
economic burden per person affected by wildfires along with many sub-national governments and busi-
is more than twice that of earthquakes and 48 times nesses, have committed to coal phase-out for power
higher than that of floods, although the global number generation through the Powering Past Coal Alliance.
of events and number of people affected by floods are Rapidly decreasing coal use to zero is crucial to meet-
much higher than for wildfires. ing the commitments of the Paris Agreement. For
example, no less than an 80 per cent reduction in coal
ONSET OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES use from 2017 to 2050 (a 5·6 per cent annual reduction
Climate change affects the distribution and risk of rate) is consistent with a 1·5°C trajectory.
many infectious diseases. The 2019 Lancet Count- With the power generation sector accounting for
down report provides an updated analysis of the 38 per cent of total energy-related emissions, the
environmental suitability for transmission of den- displacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy
gue virus, malaria, and Vibrio, with the most recently sources is of crucial importance. Globally, 3·8 mil-
available data, and presents an additional analysis of lion deaths per year are estimated to be attributable

21