Flooding in Brisbane CBD, 2011. Credit: Jono Haysom

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) has joined nine other medical colleges to advocate for urgent transition to net-zero emissions across all economic sectors to address the causes of climate change and to support those in affected communities.

Ahead of the Australian federal election, the colleges wrote an open letter* asking for a national climate change and health strategy and calling on political leaders to “commit to action to build the resilience of our healthcare system to the impacts of climate change.

“At the same time, we want to play our part in the solutions. We’re advocating for support to ensure the healthcare system can reduce its own climate footprint,” they wrote, citing recent floods in New South Wales and Queensland, and the heatwaves and bushfires which have severely affected Australians’ health and wellbeing.

*For the full letter, see, www.racp.edu.au/news-and-events/all-news/news-details?id=926aaaaf-bbb2-61c2-b08b-ff01001c3177