Pedro Cabrera, national coordinator of the Medical Alliance against Climate Change.
The climate change is not an opinion, but a scientific reality and, therefore, there is no room for political interpretations. This is defended by the national coordinator of the Medical Alliance against Climate Change (AMCC), the pulmonologist Pedro Cabrera, who maintains: “We have to face it as an issue that must be inclusive, collaborative and confluent.”
To do this, one of the objectives of this alliancewhich has the vocation of a think tank within the binomial environment and health, is turn the doctor into a reference in the face of the threat of the climate crisis. “Today, doctors do not have greater environmental knowledge or sensitivity than that of the general population with a similar level of training,” explains Cabrera, “without the active participation of doctors, it will be very difficult to decarbonize the National Health System.”
The importance of count on the health workers in this fight it lies in the great depth that its indications have among the general population. “If a message is unified, its power to raise public awareness is enormous. It has already been demonstrated with tobacco or with cholesterol and fat intake,” argues the pulmonologist.
Raising awareness against climate change is preventive medicine
The national coordinator of the AMCC gives some indications so that a doctor can carry out what he calls preventive medicineinfluence and educate their patients in the environmental fight: “Advising local and seasonal food would save millions of tons of CO2 for energy savings in transport, refrigeration and packaging”.
Likewise, it highlights the role of pulmonologists as the specialty with the greatest experience and knowledge of environmental diseases. “Today, the best service that pulmonologists can provide is minimize the prescription of inhaled medication in pressurized containers. Its impact would be noticeable and immediate.”
According to the health worker, these devices release very powerful greenhouse gases of the hydro-fluoro-carbonated (HFC) type. “The vast majority of these prescriptions can be replaced by dry powder, fine mist, or nebulizer inhalers.. If Spanish doctors, instead of prescribing 52 percent of all inhaled medication in pMDI format, prescribed 13 percent, like Sweden, we would save the equivalent of 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year,” Cabrera defends.
The AMCC already has a monograph and numerous workshops and conferences
In addition to professionals, hospitals also have a great responsibility, since they are major emitters of greenhouse gases. For this reason, the national coordinator of the Medical Alliance against Climate Change celebrates that many are implementing energy saving plans and that most of its engineering directorates are fully aware.
The Medical Alliance against Climate Change is less than a year old but has already launched a monograph focused on the doctor knowing everything he needs about climate changein addition to six accredited courses both in Spain and in Europe and more than a dozen specific conferences on the environment.
“The experience of the AMCC does not exist in the European medical sector and the president of the WTO, Tomás Cobo, has been invited to present it in the coming days in Athens before the general assembly of the European Association of Medical Specialists. It is hoped that it will be Spain the one that leads in Europe the medical fight against climate change“, details Cabrera.
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