CIEH champions the Climate and Nature Bill to highlight the essential role of Environmental Health

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) is joining the zero-hour campaign, alongside hundreds of organisations, in support the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill, to encourage the Government to take a comprehensive and joined up approach to tackling climate change.

With 77% of our members agreeing that the climate emergency is the single greatest risk to environmental health, there is a clear need for urgent and ambitious action. That is why, CIEH is joining the Zero Hour campaign group to emphasise that climate change is not just a climate and nature issue, but a key health determinant, too. Our members exist at the crux of the environment and health every day, experiencing first hand the day-to-day impacts of our local environment on our health and wellbeing.

The CAN Bill aligns with CIEH’s continuous calls for an ambitious and integrated approach to climate adaptation and mitigation, a key strategic objective of our Environmental Protection Advisory Panel.

The essential contribution of environmental health professions is crucial to achieve the CAN bill’s targets and CIEH suggest specific considerations to implement upon passage. In our parliamentary briefing, sent to MPs today, we ask for the implementation of the Climate and Nature Strategy to include:

• Ambitious air quality targets, including a target of 10ug/m³ PM_2.5 by 2030.
• Greater regulation on domestic wood burners and the introduction of a Nitrogen Strategy, to holistically tackle all sources of air pollution.
• Subsequently, we urge key sponsors to work closely with CIEH and other key environmental and public health stakeholders, to inform the details of any Climate and Nature Strategy to ensure a smooth transition to the CAN Bill’s climate and nature targets, that minimises damage and prevents, rather than offsets, the adverse impacts upon the UK ecosystems, food and water availability, and human health.

CIEH are also impressing the need for involving environmental health professionals as an expert voice within any future Climate and Nature Assembly, as key professionals who sit at a vital juncture between the public health and green workforce uniquely positioned to help address this fundamentally important issue.

Louise Hosking, Executive Director at CIEH, said:

“We are delighted to launch our campaign to introduce environmental health perspectives into the legislative process behind the CAN Bill ahead of its second reading.   

Environmental health professionals are at the forefront of adapting to, and mitigating against, the climate emergency, and CIEH support the CAN Bill’s effort to introduce an ambitious and integrated approach to climate intervention. The climate emergency isn’t just an environmental crisis, but a public health one – with air quality alone contributing to over 40,000 deaths and costing the UK economy £22.6 billion every year.   

Together, we can achieve success across all climate mitigation policies, but only if the government recognises the critical role of environmental health professionals as an invaluable resource.” 

Dr Amy McDonnell, Co-Director of Zero Hour, said:  

“We are thrilled to see the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health supporting the Climate and Nature Bill. CIEH has been protecting the public and supporting professionals in this space for almost 150 years. It’s clear to all of us that we need robust new legislation to keep pace with the climate and nature crisis, which is exactly what the CAN Bill offers."