To*: Hon. Tom O’Halleran, Hon. Ann Kirkpatrick, Hon. Raúl Grijalva, Hon. Paul Gosar, Hon. Andy Biggs, Hon. David Schweikert, Hon. Ruben Gallego, Hon. Debbie Lesko, Hon. Greg Stanton, Hon. Kyrsten Sinema, and Hon. Mark Kelly

Honorable Leaders: 

The time is now. 

No longer is the human impact on climate change in doubt, nor the effect of those changes on human health. 

Our understanding of the warming of our planet from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions has transitioned from scientific probability to scientific fact, now universally judged “unequivocal” and “established” by climate scientists. The August 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report 6 (IPCC AR6), a 3,949 page compilation of peer-reviewed scientific data from around the globe, documents how this warming is found worldwide, is occurring rapidly, has reversed the previous long-term cooling trend, and is having an effect not seen in the past 175,000 years. 

Arizona Health Professionals for Climate Action is a grassroots, independent and non-partisan coalition, including doctors, nurses, behavioral health practitioners, hospital workers, public health and policy experts and students in these fields. As trusted messengers on the impact of climate on health, we seek to provide fellow health professionals the tools to educate and mobilize the public in support of climate solutions to improve health for all. We are acutely aware of the many ways climate change is already harming our patients and communities. As recently stated by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization, it is "the single biggest health threat facing humanity," which "could dwarf those of any single disease. We will end the COVID-19 pandemic, but there's no vaccine for the climate crisis.” (August 9-10, 2021) 

The medical and scientific consensus is clear: to protect the health and lives of present and future generations, we need to enact adaptations that minimize the dangerous impacts of our changing climate and reduce our contributions to its warming.

Editors of over 200 medical journals have stated that if we don't urgently reduce emissions on pace to achieve the 1.5ºC target, it will be "catastrophic to human health." Even with recent legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Bill, the US is still not on track to achieve a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Most medical societies, including the American Medical Association, recognize climate change as a public health crisis with far-ranging health impacts including, but not limited to: 

• Heat-related illnesses and death (heat stroke, exhaustion, preterm deliveries)

• Air quality-related illness (exacerbation of asthma, chronic lung disease, and increased risk of preterm deliveries, COVID mortality, and cognitive difficulties in adults over 65)

• Expansion of vector-borne diseases (Lyme disease, West Nile disease, malaria, etc.)

• Longer and more severe allergy-related illness

• Increase in food and water-borne diseases (especially during flood events)

• Reduced access to clean water and increasing malnutrition and food scarcity due to lost food sources, disruption of food supply chains, and increasingly difficult work environment for agricultural workers

• Mental health impacts

• Disruption in the medical supply chain and devastation of health care facilities

• Exacerbation of pre-existing chronic illness

These impacts are especially notable for our rural and Native communities, many who have helped to produce food for our nation for generations and now face the uncertainties that climate change is bringing to food producers. A growing number of Arizonans, especially our youth, are rightly concerned about their future wellbeing.

“Climate science is clear: we are heading in the wrong direction, according to a new multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which highlights the huge gap between aspirations and reality. Without much more ambitious action, the physical and socioeconomic impacts of climate change will be increasingly devastating, it warns….As global warming increases, “tipping points” in the climate system can not be ruled out.”

Climate change is a true public health priority, “the greatest public health challenge of the 21st century,” according to over 74 medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and it demands action. 

We call on you to pursue policies that will protect our communities, especially our children and grandchildren, from preventable health disasters. 

In particular, we ask that you: 

1. Help us transition rapidly away from the use of polluting coal, oil and natural (fossil fuel) gas towards solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric energy.

2. Further promote non-polluting, active transportation such as walking and bicycling, improve our low-carbon public transport options, and facilitate the rapid transition to electric transportation.

3. Promote use of healthy, local food sources from our farms and with more focus on plant-based options.

4. Ensure access to safe and affordable drinking water.

5. Engage with us in the call for climate action. 

Many climate solutions can bring immediate health improvements, reduce costs, and help to address health inequities. Everyone must do their part, and we need you, our leaders, to lead the way.

Thank you for your consideration,

Ronda Seifert RN BSN IBCLC

Brian Drummond MD

Ricardo Correa MD EdD

Emma Viera PhD MPH

Ben Van Maren BS

Nicolaus Hawbaker MD

Arizona Health Professionals for Climate Action Steering Committee Members