Nursing and climate change: An emerging connection

Abstract

Awareness of the importance of climate change to public health has been growing. Calls for health professionals, including nurses, to take action to prepare for, and mitigate, climate change have been coming from a number of credible sources. This paper will assist nurses to recognise the health consequences of climate change, to generate and disseminate knowledge about these health consequences, to be active in mitigating emissions locally and within their organisations and to advocate and have input into policy processes. It is valuable for nurses to understand the health co-benefits of emission mitigation and the current health costs of fossil fuels. As advocates for evidence-based public health initiatives, nurses have a role to play in communicating to the public and to policy makers accurate information, including about the health costs of fossil fuel policies and the affordability of renewable energy technologies.