Nurses voted yesterday that RCN Council should lobby the government on climate change.
A debate was held at the RCN Congress 2015 in Bournemouth on climate change, and a majority of voting members voted to pass the resolution which asked Council to lobby governments of UK countries to act to prepare UK health services for the effects of climate change.
The resolution was proposed by the Welsh Board of the RCN. A debate followed in which most speakers expressed their concern at the effects of climate change at home and abroad, and the effects on health.
Speakers commented on the pollution levels experienced by British travellers in some countries, concern about water scarcity in the future and the importance of hydration for humans, the spread of insect-borne diseases as the territory the insects covers expands and changes as temperatures rise and the importance of the health professions standing up against climate change.
In a separate move today, doctors and the editor of the BMJ have signed an open letter to The Guardian calling on the Welcome Trust to divest funds from fossil fuel companies to make fossil fuels less socially acceptable. They concluded that 'transparent public engagement is more effective than quiet engagement behind the scenes' and this would help progress towards a 'low carbon future' and 'prevent runaway climate change and unprecedented harm to global health'. The BMA is also behind the move.