Climate change and rural health.

Abstract

Following wide discussion among its members, the National Rural Health Alliance has developed a strong position statement on climate change and rural health. This excerpt1 is published here to advise rural health researchers of the scope of the issue—and to assist them to devise research and teaching that will address the urgent challenges to health posed by climate change. It is the National Rural Health Alliance’s (the Alliance) position that climate change poses a significant and enduring threat to health in the 21st century. A national commitment to the climate and health policy agenda is urgently required to protect human and environmental health from the current and future impacts of climate change in rural, regional and remote Australia. This is necessary to ensure these communities and their ecosystems—essential for food, fibre, biodiversity, clean air and water—remain safe, liveable, thriving and positively able to provide a sustainable future for all. The Alliance, as a peak national body, commits to efforts to reduce the organisation’s carbon footprint, and to promote and advocate for mitigation and adaptation strategies in rural health care settings and communities.