Who are Fossil Free Health?
I’m a psychiatrist in Berlin, Germany and led the call for divestment of the Berlin Doctors Pension fund. The effects of unmitigated climate change will potentially be devastating for human health and civilisation. We are all called upon to act on this challenge. Divestment of health institutions from fossil fuels is an essential step that we can all take to meet this challenge and to comply to the “do no harm“ principle that guides us as health professionals. In the long run this will pay off in every respect that is important to us as doctors, and pension holders.
Dieter LehmkuhlI’m a final year medical student from UCL. From a young age I have been interested in the two-way relationship between the environment and us. Having been based in central London for the last 6 years, every day is a reminder of how fossil fuels impact our health via the pollution that clogs up our lungs. However, it is also the broader impact fossil fuels have on health, such as changing tropical disease patterns, flooding and other adverse weather events, food security, that has lead me to want to fight against the stronghold that fossil fuel companies have on our society. As a future health professional, it is ethically unacceptable to continue investing in these companies that so negatively affect our health.
Roshni Patel