Hosted by Medact
Chair: Dr. David McCoy, Chairman of Medact.
Marking the release of a ‘Unhealthy Investments: Should Health Organisations Divest from Fossil Fuels?‘ a panel of expert speakers will discuss the case for divestment from fossil fuels by the UK health community. The report is being published by a group of UK-based health organisations including Healthy Planet UK, Medact and the Climate and Health Council.
The panel will discuss whether organisations which work to improve health should continue to invest in fossil fuel companies, given the health impacts of air pollution from fossil fuels and the rising threats to health from climate change.
Speakers include:
- Rachel Stancliffe, Director of The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, who will speak about the role of health professionals in driving change for sustainability through changes to clinical practice and through advocacy for better policy on climate and health-related subjects.
- Christophe McGlade, Research Associate at University College London and lead author on the recent Nature paper which showed that, globally, a third of oil reserves, half of gas reserves and over 80 per cent of current coal reserves should remain unused from 2010 to 2050 in order to stay under the globally agreed 2°C warming limit.
- Jon Hoare, Director of Investor Networks at ShareAction, who will speak about some of the financial dimensions of fossil fuel divestment and discuss considerations faced by ethical organisations in making decisions about divestment and other forms of shareholder action.
- Isobel Braithwaite, clinical student at University College London and past National Co-ordinator of Healthy Planet UK, who will provide some background to the Unhealthy Investments report being launched and the current status of divestment by health organisations in the UK.
A panel Q&A with the audience will be followed by short calls to action from Dr. Hugh Grant-Peterkin, NHS psychiatrist with an interest in sustainability.
Admission: Registration is required, please follow the link below.
Email: chrisvenables@medact.org
More information: bit.ly/UnhealthyInvestmentsLaunch
