Healthcare workers gathered outside Parliament to send the Federal Government a strong message that heat and climate change are harmful to health, and people need protection now

 

“As GPs, we know that increasing extremes of heat can have an impact on the health of the community – especially on the very young, and the very old. In primary care, we need to help our patients plan for heatwaves, which might include discussing staying cool, using air conditioning, or including this in chronic disease management plans, but we also need to advocate for broader interventions that can reduce climate change.” [Associate Professor Rowena Ivers, representing the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Healthy Futures media release, 26 March 2024]

IMAGE: @RACGPPresident

Health professionals gathered at 11am on Tuesday, 26 March 2024 outside Parliament House in Canberra to deliver an open letter signed by 25 organisations representing over 50,000 health professionals, including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP), calling for funding commitments for rooftop solar on social housing to protect vulnerable people from the health impacts of extreme heat and climate change.

Led by Healthy Futures1, the letter warns that heat-related illnesses kill thousands of Australians every year.

The letter requests that the Federal government commit to installing rooftop solar on at least 30% of Australian social housing, to be completed by the end of 2026, provide access to affordable renewable electricity where rooftop solar is impractical and install reverse cycle air conditioning and implement other energy efficient retrofits to achieve safe temperatures in all social housing.

Key facts:

Heat-related illnesses kill thousands of Australians every year (1) by increasing heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and other health impacts.

Roughly one-third of heat-related deaths in Australia are attributable to climate change (2,3).

Many social housing dwellings are poor quality and prone to temperature extremes (3-5).

A 2023 survey of people on low incomes by the Australian Council of Social Services found that 94.5% avoided using air conditioning because it is too expensive (6). [Healthy Futures, media release, 26 March 2024]

Text of the Letter

To: the Hon Chris Bowen, Federal Minister for Climate Change & Energy

Cc: the Hon Jenny McAllister, Federal Assistant Minister for Climate Change & Energy

& the Hon Mark Butler, Federal Minister for Health & Aged Care

& the Hon Jim Chalmers, Federal Treasurer

& the Hon Julie Collins, Federal Minister for Housing

& the Hon Amanda Rishworth, Federal Minister for Families and Social Services

Dear Minister Bowen,

As healthcare workers and community members, we request that the Australian government protect people in social housing from the increasing health impacts of climate change by ensuring that their homes are kept at safe temperatures through building retrofits and affordable, renewable-powered air conditioning.

Heat-related illnesses kill thousands of Australians every year (1) and roughly one-third of these deaths can be attributed to climate change (2,3). Heatwaves increase the risk of dehydration, kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes. Older people, children, people with pre-existing health conditions and people unable to afford air conditioning are most vulnerable.

Currently, many social housing dwellings are poor quality and prone to temperature extremes (4-6). A 2023 survey of people on low incomes by the Australian Council of Social Services found that 94.5% avoided using air conditioning because it is too expensive (7). Solar panels can significantly reduce air conditioning costs, and while 30% of Australian homes now have rooftop solar, rooftop solar coverage on social housing in New South Wales, for example, is only 7% (8).

Energy efficiency retrofits and renewable-powered air conditioning will not only protect people from extreme temperatures and drive down costs of living; they will also mitigate climate change and its health impacts in the long term by reducing dependence on polluting fossil fuel-based electricity.

We therefore request that as part of the next federal budget you commit funding to:

• Roll out rooftop solar on at least 30% of Australian social housing, to be completed by the end of 2026

• Ensure access to affordable renewable electricity for social housing where rooftop solar is impractical, e.g. via power purchasing agreements and/or battery storage

• Install reverse cycle air conditioning and implement other energy efficient retrofits to achieve safe temperatures in all social housing.

Sincerely,

Signed by 25 organisations representing over 50,000 health professionals, including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP)

References:

[1] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00081-4/fulltext

[2]

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climate-change-blamed-for-more-than-a-third-of-heat-related-deaths-20210531-p57wpy.html

[3]

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01058-x

[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778822005205?via%3Dihub

[5] https://www.malleefamilycare.org.au/MFCSite/media/PDFDocuments/PublicHousing/2019/MalleeFamilyCare_PublicHousing_Report_2019.pdf

[6]

https://www.shelterwa.org.au/stuck-in-the-heat/

[7]

https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Heat-Survey-Report_20230228.pdf

[8]

https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/576436/environmental-sustainability-strategy-2024-2026.pdf

“Extreme heat can trigger heart attacks, kidney failure, strokes and even death,” said Ursula Alquier, Healthy Futures Campaigner. “We want to see a commitment to ensure people living in social housing are able to live in safe and healthy homes”

“As healthcare workers, we are concerned about the health of our patients and our climate. People in social housing need energy-efficient homes with cheap renewable-powered air conditioning to protect their health” said Dr Harry Jennens, general practitioner and Healthy Futures Co-ordinator. [Healthy Futures, media release, 26 March 2024]

IMAGE: @RACGPPresident

NOTES

1. Healthy Futures is an affiliate of Friends of the Earth Australia and a member of the Climate and Health Alliance.

Climate Change Australia State of Play 2024: will there ever be climate resilient housing for the poor and disadvantaged?

 

IMAGE: The Guardian, 9 December 2023

Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), "ACOSS Summer Heat Survey 2024", 1 March 2024, excerpts:

* Introduction

Summers are becoming hotter with climate change. In fact, the last nine years were the world’s hottest on record, with 2023 being the hottest year to date. Australia is experiencing more very hot days and heatwaves, and Bureau of Meteorology data forecasts more days where the national daily average is over 40 degrees. For people in remote areas and places like central and northern Australia, high temperatures are already common and daily temperatures reach 35 degrees for over half the year.

Severely hot days and heatwaves affect people experiencing financial and social disadvantage worst because they have fewer resources and choices to protect themselves from extreme heat. This is an urgent and critical public health problem. Heatwaves cause more deaths than all other extreme weather events combined. In Australia, there were an estimated 36,000 deaths associated with heat between 2006 and 2017. A lack of access to energy-efficient homes is often a primary factor in these deaths.

People experiencing financial and social disadvantage are vulnerable to high temperatures because they often live in homes that are poorly insulated, with no or limited shading; and no air conditioning or fans to help cool indoor temperatures. Even if the home has air conditioning and/or fans, rising energy costs mean that people on low incomes often cannot afford to run them. They are also less likely to have rooftop solar, which would significantly reduce their energy bills.

Further, people in rental properties are not able to make changes in their home that could make them more liveable, healthy and safe. Minimum rental standards could address this problem by placing requirements on landlords to ensure their property protects tenants against heat or cold. For example, the ACT requires landlords to have ceiling insulation and Victoria is implementing minimal rental standards.

ACOSS conducted a public, online Heat Survey over the 2023-24 summer to explore the intersection between high temperatures, energy performance of homes, energy costs and income. The data is gathered to advocate for support for people experiencing financial and social disadvantage to secure cooler, healthier and more climate-resilient homes, putting people with the least at the centre of government policy and planning.

The survey gives us valuable insight into how severely high heat affects people’s physical and mental health, their wellbeing and activity when they cannot cool their homes. The survey highlights how seriously poverty and poor energy-performing homes can reduce people’s resilience and capacity to cope with debilitating hot weather.

The ACOSS Heat Survey was open from 1 December 2023 to 28 January 2024. It was made available online via the survey tool, TypeformTM.

* Key findings

Exposure to high heat is a major threat to human health. More people die in Australia from heatwaves than all other extreme events combined. With climate change, Australia is becoming hotter. Very hot days and heatwaves are becoming more common. People experiencing financial and social disadvantage are worst impacted by these events.

Those worst affected experience a combination of:

• homes with poor energy performance;

• high energy prices;

• low incomes; and

• health conditions.

To track the intersection between housing, energy costs, heat, and people experiencing financial and social disadvantage, ACOSS conducted a public, online Heat Survey over the summer months, from December 2023 to January 2024. We received 1007 responses from people across the country, including: 66.1% receiving income support; 19.2% in social housing; 36.1% in private rental; 6.4% First Nations respondents. Additionally, 62.7% reported they or someone in their household has a disability or chronic health condition.

The survey found the majority of 1007 people surveyed (80.4%) said their homes get too hot. This was often to do with being in homes with low energy efficiency (e.g., no insulation or shading, dark roofing, no eaves).

More than half (56.7%) could not cool their home because:

• they do not have air conditioners or fans, or have them but they are broken, or have them only in part of the home or they are ineffective in cooling the home; or

• if they had functioning air conditioners and or fans, they could not afford to run them.

People most likely to struggle to cool their homes were:

• people in social housing (78.3%) or private rental (65.7%) with limited control to modify their home or access working efficient air conditioners to better deal with extreme temperatures;

• people receiving income support (60.8%) with limited resources to modify their homes, afford air-conditioning or fans, or afford the running costs to cool their home;

and

• First Nations people (71.9%), two thirds of whom were in social or private rental, and more than three-quarters of whom were receiving income support.

Exposure to high temperatures in the home has a range of serious negative impacts on household members. Respondents to the survey reported:

• Negative physical and mental health impacts, making them unwell (80.5% of all 1007 respondents; 94% of First Nations respondents). For many, the heat seriously aggravated existing chronic health conditions or disabilities.

• Having to seek medical attention for heat stress (14% of all respondents; 25% of First Nations respondents).

• Difficulty sleeping (94% of all respondents; 98% of First Nations respondents), reduced productivity for work and study, and raised tensions in the home.

• Avoiding everyday household activities due to the heat (like housework and cooking).

While medical and government advice often is to leave home to go to a cooler place during very hot weather, this is not always easy. Most people (90.5%) reported that they face mobility, cost and other barriers to doing so.

Many people reported challenges affording their energy bills which meant they couldn’t cool their home and/or afford other essentials:

• 59.8% reported finding it increasingly difficult to pay their energy bills, which affected their capacity to cool their homes.

• Many reported that high energy bills made it difficult to pay for essentials like food (46.7%), medicine (41.4%) or housing (34%).

First Nations respondents were even more likely to be struggling to pay for essentials such as energy and other bills (86%), food (75%), medicine (63%) and housing (58%).

A quarter of all 1007 people surveyed (25.8%) were currently in energy debt with their retailer or believed they would go into energy debt because they could not afford their next energy bill. People receiving income support (69.4%) and First Nations people (55%) were more likely to say they had an energy debt or that they considered it to be imminent.

We note that while the people surveyed are currently housed, extremes of temperature present more severe health risks from exposure and threats to life itself to people living on the streets or sleeping rough.

Findings from the ACOSS 2024 Heat Survey raise similar concerns to the previous ACOSS 2023 Heat Survey Report and Sweltering Cities’ 2021 and 2022 Summer Survey Reports.

However, a hotter summer in 2023/24, coupled with rising costs for energy, housing, food and other essentials were reflected in people’s comments. There was a clear level of distress amongst people surveyed about the growing challenge to reduce the impacts of

heat while affording energy bills and avoiding – or compounding existing - energy debt.

For people experiencing financial and social disadvantage, especially those living with disability or a health condition, the situation of hot homes that cannot be cooled remains untenable, putting lives at risk. The situation facing First Nations people surveyed is much worse on almost every measure. Therefore, prioritising this report’s recommendations for First Nations communities is essential.

Almost all 1007 people who completed the 2024 Heat Survey (96.5%) called on governments to do more to improve homes to be more resilient to extreme heat (and cold) and to support people to be able to afford energy bills and other essentials....

Read the full 30 page report and recommendations at:

https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ACOSSHeatSurveyReport2024.pdf

CLIMATE CRISIS ANALYSIS: “2023 has broken so many records that a number of new hypotheses, including the dawn of a new phase in the global warming rate, have been floated "

 

Starting 2024 the way we ended 2023.........

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE PERSPECTIVE

ABC News (Australia), 8 February 2024:

Global temperatures through January were the warmest on record at 1.66 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to data released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

The month was 0.12C above the previous warmest January in 2020 and extends the run of record warm months to eight, following similar unprecedented temperatures from June to December last year.

Monthly Global Temperature Anomaly

Relative to pre-industrial 1850-1900 baseline

The greatest anomalies last month were seen across eastern Canada and south-west Asia where temperatures were nearly 5C above the 1991-2020 average.

Australia's mean was 1.54C above the 1961-1990 baseline average, making it the country's third warmest January on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The run of abnormal heat has now lifted the 12-month for the first time.

With the target now temporarily breached, a permanent rise above 1.5C is now projected to arrive in less than 10 years.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the agency was "sounding the alarm" that the world would "breach the 1.5C level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency".

Oceans simmering - warm enough for a tropical cyclone off the NSW coast

The average global sea surface temperature (SST) was also at unprecedented levels last month, a staggering 0.26C warmer than the previous January record in 2016 and only 0.01°C off the all-time record from August 2023.

The heat observed in the world's oceans has been a notable feature of the climate during the past year – passing global monthly records for 10 consecutive months.

The record run is almost certain to reach 11 months as the Earth's water temperature is currently running at levels well beyond all previous years — daily SSTs climbed to 21.05C this week, more than 0.2C above the previous February high and above the previous all-time high of 21.02C from August 2023.

The warm global waters are also being felt off Australia's east coast.

Data from the Climate Change Institute shows parts of the northern Tasman Sea are currently as much as 3C above average at around 28C - equal to a typical summer water temperature off the tropical Queensland coast.

The waters are so warm right now off the NSW north coast they could theoretically support the formation of a tropical cyclone, exceeding the threshold for development of 26.5C.

While enough evaporation is occurring for a cyclone to form off the NSW coast, they require numerous additional ingredients which are currently absent.

Climate change the main driver of records

Historical data shows than even though El Niño increases global temperatures, the trend during the past 12 months is well outside the typical warming.

"Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing," Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service Samantha Burgess said.

However, considering the year after El Niño forms is typically warmer than the previous year, there is a good chance 2024 will end up beating the recent record warm 2023.

Out of the past 15 El Niño episodes, 13 led to a rise in the Earth's air temperature in the second year.

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE PERSPECTIVE

The Guardian (UK), 7 February 2024:

From deadly floods in California to devastating fires in Chile, scientists say the world is not prepared for the climate disasters that are hitting with increasing frequency as human-driven global heating continues to break records.

The hottest year in history has been followed by the warmest ever January. Many regions in the northern hemisphere are sweltering in heatwaves that would be more normal in June. Marine scientists are shocked by the prolonged and intense heat at the surface of the oceans.

Scientists say the extreme heat is mostly the result of human activity, such as the burning of oil, gas and coal and the cutting down of forests. This has been amplified by natural factors, particularly the El Niño – a phenomenon associated with Pacific Ocean warming – that started last year and is expected to continue until spring at the earliest.

This year has a one in three chance of being even hotter than last year’s record, according to the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The higher the global temperature, the greater the risk of fires and flooding. This month alone has seen two grim records of such climate-related disasters.

The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, has declared two days of national mourning after the country’s deadliest ever forest fires claimed more than 120 lives in the Valparaíso region. This follows a decade-long drought in the area and a shift from diverse natural forests, which are more resilient to fire, to monoculture plantations, which are more vulnerable.

In the US, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announced a state of emergency as an “atmospheric river” – which was supercharged by the unusually warm Pacific Ocean – dumped unprecedented amounts of rain on San Diego and neighbouring districts, killing at least three people.

Attribution studies will be needed to ascertain the precise extent to which these particular calamities were drive by human-driven climate disruption, but they are in line with a broader trend towards increasingly severe impacts.

“Fuelled by extreme weather and climate extremes, the frequency of climate-related disasters has dramatically risen in recent years,” said Raul Cordero, a climate professor at the University of Groningen and the University of Santiago. “In some regions of the world, we are facing climate-fuelled disasters for which we are not prepared, and it is unlikely that we will be able to fully adapt to them.”

Richard Betts, of the Met Office’s Hadley Centre in the UK, said many extremes, including longer heatwaves, heavier rainfall, increased drought and more fire weather, were becoming more severe due to human-caused climate change.

“We can still limit the extent to which extremes get worse if we urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero – but with global emissions still rising, it’s hard not to be increasingly concerned about how we will deal with what’s coming,” Betts said. “We already need to adapt to the changes that we’ve already caused, and adaptation will become increasingly difficult the longer we leave it to reduce emissions.”

Of prime concern is what is happening to the oceans, which cover 71% of the planet and absorb most of the excess heat from global warming. In a letter published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science last month, a group of scientists warned that sea surface temperatures last year were “off the chart”, with dire implications for atmospheric regulation and storm intensity.....

Guglielmo said scientists were now considering risks that had been unthinkable until recently. “2023 has broken so many records that a number of new hypotheses, including the dawn of a new phase in the global warming rate, have been floated. These hypotheses were not nearly as prevalent a year ago.”