A new report by the Western Sydney Health Alliance aims to tackle the challenges of climate change, with a focus on improving health in local communities.
The Increasing Resilience to the Health Impacts of a Changing Climate: A local council resource for the Parks Councils report has been developed by the Alliance, in conjunction with Western Sydney University and the Climate Action Health Alliance, to help understand the effects of climate change on people’s health and provide a range of tools and actions for councils to improve health outcomes.
Chair of The Parks, Sydney’s Parkland councils’ mayoral forum Cr George Greiss said the report provides an important framework for meaningful actions to address the impact of climate change.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen the impacts of fires, floods and pandemic affect the mental and physical health of people across the region so it’s important that we take action to help build our collective resilience to these shocks and stresses,” said Cr Greiss, who is mayor of Campbelltown and is pictured above.
“The recommendations in this report build on the work already being done by many councils and use an evidence-based approach to help guide decision making in the coming years,” he said.
The Western Sydney Health Alliance is a partnership between the eight Western Parkland Councils of Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly as well as the South Western Sydney Local Health District, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, South Western Sydney Primary Health Network and Wentworth Healthcare.
This project has been funded by the NSW Government with assistance from Local Government NSW.
The report is available at wshealthalliance.nsw.gov.au/increasing-resilience-to-climate-change-ircc
Most of the council regions mentioned will be adversely affected by the 200,000 hectare Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan which will increase heat air pollution and flooding as farm and bushland is replaced by buildings and roads. All media outlets are ignoring this Plan and the public will not know what a danger this is to their health and welfare until it will be too late.