EMWA journal supports collective editorial calling for emergency action to limit global temperature increases
In September 2021, the editors-in-chief of over 200 biomedical and scientific journals from all geographic regions issued a call for Emergency Action to Limit Global Temperature Increases, Restore Biodiversity, and Protect Health. This editorial was published simultaneously in several international journals, including the NEJM, Lancet, BMJ, and PLoS. The complete list of authors and signatories can be found here.
The EMWA journal Medical Writing, with the endorsement of the EMWA Executive Committee and the support of the Sustainability SIG (SUS-SIG), is declaring full support for this collective and concerted editorial.
The call for action is for each and everyone but the editorial focuses particularly on what needs to be done by countries, world leaders and health professionals.
- High Income countries:
“... countries that have disproportionately created the environmental crisis must do more to support low- and middle-income countries to build cleaner, healthier, and more resilient societies. High-income countries must meet and go beyond their outstanding commitment...”
- Governments and world leaders:
“The greatest threat to global public health is the continued failure of world leaders to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5° C and to restore nature. Urgent, society-wide changes must be made and will lead to a fairer and healthier world.”
- For health professionals:
“As health professionals, we must do all we can to aid the transition to a sustainable, fairer, resilient, and healthier world. Alongside acting to reduce the harm from the environmental crisis, we should proactively contribute to global prevention of further damage and to action on the root causes of the crisis. We must hold global leaders to account and continue to educate others about the health risks of the crisis. We must join in the work to achieve environmentally sustainable health systems before 2040, recognizing that this will mean changing clinical practice...”
- For medical writers and communicators
EMWA as an organisation is strongly advocating for overall sustainability and planetary health. The SUS‑SIG was launched in 2020 with the objective of bringing sustainability goals into EMWA and help disseminate information to the medical writers and communicators on sustainable practices within the healthcare industry. Check out the resources and initiatives on the SUS-SIG website. Also check out the journal section The Crofter: Sustainable Communications in the following issues:
For more information, contact sussig@emwa.org.