Assembly Seeks APA Sign-On To Climate Statement, Takes Other Actions

At an agenda-packed meeting last month in Washington, D.C., the APA Assembly approved an action paper asking APA to sign the “U.S. Call to Action on Climate, Health, and Equity,” a document endorsed by more than 100 organizations including the AMA and other medical groups.

The document calls on government, business, civil society leaders, elected officials, and candidates for office to recognize climate change as a health emergency. The action paper states the issue is of “sufficient urgency” that it be referred directly to the Board of Trustees for approval and enactment. All action papers, resolutions, and position statements approved by the Assembly do not become policy unless approved by the Board of Trustees.

The “U.S. Call to Action on Climate, Health, and Equity” states, “Without transformational action, climate change will be increasingly severe, leading to more illness, injury, and death; mass migration and violent conflict; and worsening health inequities. By mobilizing climate action for health and health action for climate, the U.S. can reduce climate pollution and build healthy communities that are resilient in the face of climate risks.”

James Fleming, M.D., one of the sponsors of the Assembly action paper, noted that three member organizations of the “Group of Six”—a coalition of primary care and specialty groups with which APA partners on advocacy initiatives—have signed the “Call to Action on Climate, Health and Equity.”

The three groups that have signed the document are the Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians. (The other Group of Six members are APA, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Osteopathic Association.)

Fleming added that the American College of Emergency Physicians has also signed the document. “I think it’s safe to say the emergency physicians wouldn’t sign onto something like this if they didn’t think it was a true emergency,” he told Psychiatric News. Fleming is an Assembly representative from the Missouri Psychiatric Physicians Association, chair of the APA Caucus on Climate Change and Mental Health, and a member of the steering committee of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance (CPA). The CPA is a group of psychiatrists who focus on climate change and mental health.

The document lists 10 recommendations (see end of article for website address). “It’s a broad-ranging document that addresses a number of intersecting components of the climate crisis, each of which in and of itself is problematic,” Fleming said. Among those components are health, transportation, employment, and food distribution.

“They can exacerbate each other, and not dealing with the worst aspects of climate disruption will worsen every other component, including the structures of society we need to practice medicine and psychiatry. This can also be an opportunity to solve several problems at once,” he said.

APA members can access the Assembly item action tracking system here. The text of “U.S. Call to Action on Climate, Health, and Equity” is posted here.