In a new report released yesterday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) claimed that “the climate crisis is a health crisis,” suggesting that health goals should be intrinsically linked to decarbonization strategies.
The UKHSA replaced Public Health England in April 2021, assuming responsibility for England-wide public health protection and infectious disease capabilities. It functions as an executive agency under the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The UKHSA’s Behavioral Science and Insights Unit seeks to engineer “win-win” behavioural shifts for health and decarbonization. Partnering with government, it translates its findings into policy, creating a nuanced dance between surveillance and influence. As the agency succinctly puts it, they aim to “improve understanding of the barriers and opportunities for ‘win-win’ behavioural shifts.”
The agency’s latest document, titled “Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK: State of the Evidence 2023,” is an update from a 2012 report on the topic and recommends a raft of new proactive measures, policy changes, and international collaboration to address perceived health impacts of climate change.
Climate Change Now One Of ‘Greatest’ Threats
The report also contends that a “changing climate” now poses “one of the greatest health security and societal challenges, impacting everything from the air we breathe to the quality and availability of our food and water.”Its authors assert that climate change is no longer a theoretical future threat but an emerging reality. It points toward claims of an increasing frequency of extreme weather events globally, including flooding, wildfires, and record temperatures. Regardless of decarbonization progress, it asserts that temperatures are projected to rise, impacting health, society, and the NHS.
In response to the UKHSA’s assertion that ’the climate crisis is a health crisis,' researcher Ben Pile strongly contested the claim, stating, “There are no metrics of human welfare that support the UKHSA’s claims.”
Speaking to The Epoch Times, he claimed that globally, people live healthier, wealthier, and safer lives than any previous generation despite the era of climate change.
Mr. Pile, the founder of Climate Resistance, a website dedicated to challenging the green climate narrative, highlighted a significant reduction in deaths from weather-related causes, including storms, natural disasters, communicable diseases, malnutrition, and exposure to temperature extremes.
Another all-encompassing claim made within the report is that “climate change affects most health determinants directly or indirectly,” highlighting what the report suggests may be a very extensive reach of environmental shifts on well-being.
Claims Are An ‘Outright Lie’
Mr. Pile, who has authored reports on the impact of clean air policies on health, characterised the UKHSA’s claims as “an outright lie” and argued that lives are safer today due to improved access to reliable and affordable energy. He expressed concern that limiting access to cheap energy could make lives more challenging, as essential items become more expensive, contributing to increased poverty.Mr. Pile criticised the UKHSA for succumbing to “green” ideology, stating, “Like many agencies, it has put ‘saving the planet’ before human health, ultimately to the detriment of human health.”
While sounding the alarm on preventative measures, the report also points to opportunities for health benefits through climate change mitigation measures. Embedding health goals in decarbonization strategies, it claims, can generate positive impacts in air quality, food, housing, transport, mental health, and reduce health inequalities.
Among efforts that the report claims are intended to mitigate health concerns, is the creation of the Centre for Climate and Health Security.
Established by the UKHSA in Oct. 2022, this body now leads efforts to protect health in the context of a “changing climate,” collaborating with academic, public, and international partners.
The report emphasises that while its coverage spans the entire UK, driven by the recognition that the impacts of climate change on public health are expected to be largely uniform across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It also clarifies that the research and public health considerations presented in each chapter represent the views of the authors and do not constitute an official policy statement for the four nations.
This latest piece of guidance urges policymakers to be informed by evidence, preventing health impacts by considering global decarbonization, early interventions, and so-called health equity.
