TY - JOUR T1 - Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity and protect health JF - BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care JO - BMJ Support Palliat Care DO - 10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003334 SP - bmjspcare-2021-003334 AU - Lukoye Atwoli AU - Abdullah H Baqui AU - Thomas Benfield AU - Raffaella Bosurgi AU - Fiona Godlee AU - Stephen Hancocks AU - Richard Horton AU - Laurie Laybourn-Langton AU - Carlos Augusto Monteiro AU - Ian Norman AU - Kirsten Patrick AU - Nigel Praities AU - Marcel GM Olde Rikkert AU - Eric J Rubin AU - Peush Sahni AU - Richard Smith AU - Nicholas J Talley AU - Sue Turale AU - Damián Vázquez Y1 - 2021/09/01 UR - http://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2021/09/01/bmjspcare-2021-003334.abstract N2 - Wealthy nations must do much more, much faster.The United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 will bring countries together at a critical time for marshalling collective action to tackle the global environmental crisis. They will meet again at the biodiversity summit in Kunming, China, and the climate conference (Conference of the Parties (COP)26) in Glasgow, UK. Ahead of these pivotal meetings, we—the editors of health journals worldwide—call for urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5°C, halt the destruction of nature and protect health.Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world, a state of affairs health professionals have been bringing attention to for decades.1 The science is unequivocal; a global increase of 1.5°C above the preindustrial average and the continued loss of biodiversity risk catastrophic harm to health that will be impossible to reverse.2 3 Despite the world’s necessary preoccupation with COVID-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions.Reflecting the severity of the moment, this editorial appears in health journals across the world. We are united in recognising that only fundamental and equitable changes to societies will reverse our current trajectory.The risks to health of increases above 1.5°C are now well established.2 Indeed, no temperature rise is ‘safe’. In the past 20 years, heat-related mortality among people aged over 65 has increased by more than 50%.4 Higher temperatures have brought increased dehydration and renal function loss, dermatological malignancies, tropical infections, adverse mental health outcomes, pregnancy complications, allergies, and cardiovascular and pulmonary morbidity and mortality.5 6 Harms disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including children, older populations, ethnic minorities, poorer communities and those with underlying health problems.2 4 Global heating is also contributing to the decline in … ER -