Today, at Salud por Derecho (Right to Health), we are launching ‘I won’t have time’, an awareness raising campaign with the aim of making people aware of the effects of climate change on health, and emphasising the measures that must be implemented to combat its impact. Created by the McCann Worldgroup, the campaign features artificial intelligence, which warns humans that – if they don’t act soon against climate change – it could put an end to them before AI has the chance to do it. The creative proposition humorously uses the current debate on the risks and threats of artificial intelligence to convey the urgency of dealing with the climate emergency. ‘Beyond playing around and irony, this campaign is backed by real data that reveal the impact of climate change and that help open our eyes to the crisis that we are facing,’ claims Vanessa López, director of Right to Health.
Proof of this crisis is that, in the summer of 2023 alone, there were 3009 deaths attributable to excessive temperatures in our country, and that the number of deaths among the elderly due to heat has increased by 85% in the last two decades. The organisation also reminds us that high temperatures are not only an aggravating factor in heart, kidney and lung diseases and increased hospitalisations, but their relationship has also been linked to the worsening of the symptoms of neurological diseases, mental disorders and an increased risk of suicides.
We also stress the special vulnerability faced by babies, the elderly and people who are ill, who have the most difficulties handling high temperatures, just as the people do with low incomes or financial hardships.
Both air pollution and climate change are primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels and they share many of the same solutions. Which is why we point out that combating air pollution also contributes to climate action. Air pollution is responsible for some 21,000 deaths per year in Spain and 300,000 per year in Europe, representing a severe risk to our health, especially for children, people with respiratory diseases and pregnant women. It is also one of the main risk factors associated with dementia. In Europe, an estimated 500,000 people suffer from dementia attributed to this type of pollution.
The campaign also focuses on the increase in diseases transmitted by vectors, like dengue and malaria, which cause 700,000 deaths each year and are highly affected by climate change. High temperatures extend the periods of time and places with a presence of mosquitoes, the main transmitters of these diseases.
For the problems, solutions
The campaign not only speaks of the threats of climate change, but also contains the solutions that Right to Health has been proposing for some time now, which are included in the report on the impact of climate change on people’s health (PDF) which was published only a few weeks ago.
The first of the solutions is for Spain to stop using fossil fuels and promote renewable energies and a fair ecological transition. This involves concrete commitments, such as reducing emissions by 80% by 2035 and reaching 100% clean energy by 2040. The actions that are aimed in the right direction that promote active mobility, the use of public transport and the implementation of Low Emission Zones (LEZ) and restricted traffic areas. Moreover, the campaign stresses that all these measures form part of the new EU air quality directive, which is in its final stages for approval, and ask the Spanish government for fast enactment of its most ambitious version.
Likewise, it states that health must be a priority in the Spanish National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, and that specific plans for health adaptation must be strengthened, which include strategies on extreme temperatures, diseases transmitted by vectors, and protecting the most vulnerable people. Solutions are also highlighted that are being adopted in certain regions and should be expanded, such as increasing the green spaces in urban areas, designing healthy spaces, creating climate shelters, and blue zones (lakes and fountains).
Finally, in the chapter on recommendations, it asks that migratory and asylum procedures are started up as necessary to guarantee the rights of people migrating due to the climate crisis, who just keep on growing due to the dangers caused by the increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather phenomena.
‘Climate change not only threatens our environment, but also represents a risk to public health,’ states Vanessa López. ‘This campaign seeks to raise the population’s awareness, but also to mobilise political representatives and governments to implement urgent and effective actions.’
