More than 40 million doctors from around the world demand environmental restoration after the Covid-19 pandemic

On 26 May 2020, more than 350 organisations representing more than 40 million doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals from 90 countries wrote to the G20 leaders open letter with a request to seriously engage in the restoration of the world's ecology. The Guardian.

40 million is almost half of the global health workforce. The letter was sent to the G20 leaders and their medical advisers, including Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Jairá Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.

What the letter says

The main message that we wanted to convey to the G20 leaders is that scientists and politicians should give priority to the healthcare system, clean air and water, and a stable climate. This should be expressed in economic stimulus packages that will help avoid many crises in the future.

The main emphasis is placed on the fact that if the state reduces subsidies for fossil fuels and shifts its efforts to stimulating the production of clean renewable energy, the air and water will become cleaner, greenhouse gas emissions will decrease, and this, in turn, will affect the development of the economy. With such active steps and financial injections, GDP growth could reach 100 trillion dollars in the next three decades (by 2050).

Healthcare professionals have identified air pollution as one of the main reasons for the rapid spread of Covid-19 around the world. The pandemic has shown how weak and vulnerable the human body is. And studies have confirmed that poor environmental conditions in the regions contribute to the worsening of disease symptoms and an increase in mortality.

"Heavy traffic, inefficient energy use in residential buildings, coal-fired power plants, agricultural practices, and the incineration of huge amounts of solid waste have all contributed to severe air pollution and deteriorating health. Poor air quality has increased the risk of developing and the severity of treating pneumonia, asthma, strokes, heart and lung diseases. Every year, it becomes cause of seven million premature deaths and increasing the burden on the healthcare system."

Excerpt from the letter

The letter also cites the results of studies. One of them showed that due to the isolation of people in quarantine, carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere decreased by 17%. However, after the resumption of life, there will be a sharp increase in air pollution, which will exceed all previous figures.

To prevent this from happening, stricter conditions need to be set for industries that depend on fossil fuels (aviation, internal combustion engine transport) and more money needs to be invested in infrastructure that reduces greenhouse gas emissions (charging stations for electric vehicles, bicycle paths). According to a recent study by Oxford University, these measures would create more jobs and generate a higher return on investment than returning to the business model that existed before the quarantine.

Healthcare workers who have fought and continue to fight for people's lives during the Covid-19 pandemic fear that with the lifting of quarantine measures, the world will resume its unhealthy practices and fail to learn its lessons.

"Covid-19 has forced the world to pause and take stock, providing us with a unique opportunity to make changes that will benefit the planet and all people on it. Climate change is a serious threat to global health. We urge governments to do everything possible to ensure that pollution levels do not return to previous levels. In a normal climate, our children and grandchildren will be able to grow up healthy. Only by investing in health and the environment can we create a sustainable future."

Annette Kennedy, President of the International Council of Nurses

This letter is one of the latest in a series of open letters calling on politicians, economists and investors to embrace a green recovery. It is signed by: The World Medical Association, the International Council of Nurses, the Commonwealth Federation of Nurses and Midwives, the World Organisation of Family Physicians and the World Federation of Public Health Associations, as well as thousands of individual health professionals. Publicly available information includes full list all those who have signed up.

Our conclusion.

"Nature has been so cleaned up during the quarantine that..." - and then insert whatever you want. For example, about how the streets were overrun by herds of wild goats, elephants made their way to grape plantations and behaved like drunken revelersor dolphins swimming in the canals of Venice. This meme phrase at the end of isolation does not inspire, but only irritates. However, there is indeed progress. Just look at satellite imagesto see how much cleaner the air over China has become, and to read studies that provide real numbers on carbon footprint reduction.

We would like not only not to lose this progress, but also to improve it. We hope that the G20 leaders will listen to healthcare workers, and the world will gradually move away from consumption and pollution to renewable energy sources, waste recycling, infrastructure for electric vehicles and bicycles, and other environmental measures.