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Medical leaders urge ministers to end UK’s fossil fuel dependence

BMJ 2022; 376 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o389 (Published 15 February 2022) Cite this as: BMJ 2022;376:o389
  1. Adele Waters
  1. The BMJ

Medical bodies and hundreds of UK doctors have joined forces to protest against climate damage by calling for an immediate halt to new oil and gas exploration.

In a joint letter to the prime minister they also urge the government to end the country’s dependence on fossil fuels to tackle the climate crisis and fuel poverty, citing the health impacts of both, and to deliver a clean future with affordable energy for everyone.

The letter is signed by institutions with a combined membership of more than 250 000 including the BMA and the Royal Colleges of Physicians, Paediatricians, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and Psychiatrists, as well as more than 600 individual health professionals.

The doctors warn that the UK is facing a crisis of both climate and energy with a single underlying cause: its continued reliance on expensive and polluting fossil fuels. “As healthcare professionals, we know that any new fossil fuel projects and their contribution to climate change constitute a grave threat to our patients and the resilience of our healthcare system,” they wrote.

The letter has five main demands:

  • It asks the government to stop issuing licences to oil and gas operators that permit them to explore potential new offshore sources of fossil fuels. The government is currently consulting on how best to revise this process.1

  • It demands that ministers withhold approval for any new offshore fossil fuel developments including Cambo, a proposed oilfield off the Shetland Islands. This was put on hold last month after environmental protests.

  • Doctors want to see a plan for how the UK will help achieve the internationally agreed target of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC, as outlined by the Paris Agreement in 2015.

  • The letter asks for emergency help for the millions of households in “energy poverty,” which has been driven by rising bills and will lead to worsening health and increased winter deaths. Official statistics showed 3.2 million fuel poor households in England in 2019.2

  • Finally, the doctors demand an end to subsidies for oil and gas extraction and for funds to be redirected to green industries.

Ongoing demand

“The UK is in the middle of an energy and climate crisis,” the letter warns. “Millions of UK households face real energy poverty, whilst the impacts of climate change are already affecting the country. Meanwhile, the government is considering approval for 30 new offshore oil & gas fields, such as the Cambo Oil field.”

Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said, “'It seems utterly wrong, at a time when the role of fossil fuels in climate change is better understood than ever, that anyone should think that drilling for oil is a good thing. The climate change we are witnessing is on a scale that is already harming health and will only get worse.”

Doctors want the UK to focus on developing sustainable, renewable, and affordable alternatives to fossil fuels. Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said, “Not only will this benefit the nation’s mental and physical health but it also informs an effort to ensure that the cost-of-living crisis we are currently experiencing becomes a thing of the past.”

Last year the International Energy Agency set out a road map for achieving a global energy sector with net zero emissions by 2050. This stipulated no further investment in new fossil fuel supply projects.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said, “There will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming decades while we transition to clean energy. Turning off North Sea oil and gas overnight would put energy security, British jobs and industries at risk, and we would be even more dependent on foreign imports.”

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