Health impacts of fossil fuels

Policy Forum Pod

This podcast delves into the complex world of balancing the need for energy through fossil fuels and protecting the environment and human health.

Energy is central to so much human activity today and the politics are complex, weighing up local and global needs for energy, the ‘needs of the economy’ against the resultant environmental and climate impacts. Guests Professor Melissa Haswell and Professor Hillary Bambrick discuss how in the centre of this balance is human health and wellbeing which is dependent on energy, but adversely impacted by fossil fuel extraction, processing and by climate change.

Oil and gas extraction impacts the environment through pollution and habitat destruction from which recovery and restoration is complex. These industries often operate on Indigenous lands, leading to harmful land rights conflicts. The fossil fuel industry is also a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions and resultant climate change.

We need to be good ancestors and we need to put people first, put health first, put children first, says Professor Haswell.

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Melissa Haswell is Professor of Practice (Environmental Wellbeing) in the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services) Portfolio and Honorary Professor in the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney. She is also a Professor and former Discipline Lead of Health, Safety and Environment in the School of Public Health at Queensland University of Technology.

Hilary Bambrick is Professor and Director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University. Hilary is an environmental epidemiologist and bioanthropologist researching the health impacts of climate change, especially on more vulnerable populations, and carries expertise in the development, implementation and evaluation of adaptation strategies.

Sharon Bessell is a Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.

Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, a physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.

You can find full show notes on the Crawford School of Public Policy LinkedIn account.

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