Climate Change is a Health Emergency: What every Health Professional should know - and do
Climate change is no longer a future threat; it is a present and growing health emergency. This an educational afternoon with Professor Nicholas Talley (Chair of Doctors for the Environment Australia - DEA) and Professor Paul Beggs (Director of the Lancet Countdown Oceania Regional Centre) to explore the latest evidence on the health impacts of climate change, with a focus on insights from the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. Speakers will unpack what the data mean for clinical practice, population health, and health systems and vulnerable communities.
Designed for health professionals across disciplines, including those in training/students; the session will translate global evidence into practical, clinically relevant knowledge. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of why climate change matters to everyday healthcare, how it is already influencing disease patterns and patient outcomes, and what actions they can take—individually and collectively—to protect health, advocate for change, and contribute to more sustainable healthcare systems.
Light refreshments afterwards and door prizes have been kindly sponsored by 13SICK (After hours bulk billing doctors).
Program:
4pm Welcome and Introduction: Dr Fiona Foo
4.05: Professor Paul Beggs - The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change
4.25: Professor Nicholas Talley - The Climate Prescription: Doctors Leading the Change
4.45: Q&A/Panel Discussion with speakers moderated by Dr Aditya Vyas
Speaker Bios:
Professor Paul Beggs is a Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University. He is the Director of the Lancet Countdown Oceania Regional Centre, which tracks progress on health and climate change in this region and produces the annual MJA-Lancet Countdown report. Paul is also an author of the annual global Lancet Countdown report. An environmental health scientist with a background in biological and climate sciences, he is an international authority on the impacts of climate change on allergens and allergic diseases. He previously won the Eureka Prize for Medical Research for his ground-breaking work in this area, and in 2023 he and his Oceania Countdown colleagues were presented with the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) Tony McMichael Public Health Ecology and Environment Award. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society in 2023.
Distinguished Laureate Professor Nicholas (Nick) Talley, AC, MD (NSW), PhD (Syd.), FRACP, FAFPHM, FAHMS, is a neurogastroenterologist, clinician and educator with a research interest in disorders of gut-brain interactions, intestinal inflammation including eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders. Nick is currently Head, Discipline of Medicine at the University of Newcastle, an NHMRC Leadership Fellow, and Chief Investigator of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Transforming Gut Health. He is past Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Journal of Australia, and past Editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. He has over 1000 peer-review publications, is highly cited (>150,000 cites, H-index 202, Google Scholar) and considered an international authority in the field. Awards include Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), NSW Scientist of the Year, and the Peter Wills Medal from Research Australia. His undergraduate textbook Clinical Examination (now 9th edition) won 1st place in the British Medical Association Book Awards in 2018.
Dr Aditya (Adi) Vyas MBBS MPH FAFPHM FHEA GAICD is a public health physician and Staff Specialist in Quality & Safety at Western Sydney Local Health District. He is on the Board of Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) and supports DEA's work in leading the Health Professionals Constituency on the WHO Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH).
Dr Fiona Foo (MBBS, FRACP) is a Clinical and Interventional Cardiologist at Macquarie University Health and Sydney Cardiology Group; She chairs the CSANZ (Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand) Climate Cardiology and Sustainability Working Group, Macquarie University Health Sustainability Committee, is Vice Chair of the DEA NSW Committee and is a Clinical Lecturer at Macquarie University Hospital. She regularly teaches Interventional Cardiology in CWM Hospital, Suva Fiji.
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