We have a duty of care to our patients , which extends beyond the scope of everyday practice .”
Above : Healthcare professionals protesting against fossil fuels
facilitate green behaviour change , but that isn ’ t often possible or realistic when the physical , economic or social environment make green behaviours difficult , expensive or impossible .
‘ Current policies and systems promote the use of fossil fuels - for example the current £ 27 billion road-building programme , compared with a pitiful amount allocated for active travel and public transport - and completely counter what we need for our health and wellbeing .
‘ We as healthcare practitioners have a duty to challenge and strongly resist climate-destroying policies and practices , on behalf of those who cannot . If we don ’ t , we are complicit in allowing global heating and ecocide to continue apace .’
Adele , an experienced occupational therapist in Wiltshire Adult Social Care , adds : ‘ After more than 20 years of attending climate change protest marches and lobbying , I have reached the conclusion that the only way mass change will be achieved quickly enough to deal with this climate and ecological emergency is through non-violent resistance , such as blocking an oil refinery .
‘ I am therefore willing to risk arrest because of the appalling reality of climate change in the future , and how this will especially affect people living with disabilities .’
Charlotte , from Devon , says : ‘ I work as an occupational therapist in a learning disability service . I am terrified of the future my clients face due to climate change . I have seen the climate crisis directly affect my patients ’ mental health as they become concerned about the future .
‘ If we believe that participation in meaningful occupation is imperative to health and wellbeing , how can we stand back and allow this to be compromised , simply for the benefit of oil and gas giants ?
‘ We have a duty of care to our patients , which extends beyond the scope of everyday practice . People with a learning disability already suffer poorer health outcomes than the general population . We cannot sit by and watch their futures be thrown away . Risking arrest is a small price to pay for a future in which our service users can thrive .’
Marty , a former environmental engineer now retraining as an occupational therapist , says : ‘ As a parent , the wrench was a well-meaning peer complimenting me on my eight-year-old son ’ s involvement in his school ’ s Eco club , saying that his generation “ will be the ones to clean up the mess we ’ ve made ”.
‘ This is a belief that many people have , but the reality is that his future will be decided in the next 10 years , or really the next three , as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said emissions must peak in 2025 .
‘ I don ’ t think there ’ s any parent that wants to sacrifice their children ’ s future wellbeing for the sake of cheaper petrol , but the choice isn ’ t presented that way . Instead , we hear a false narrative that the government has got climate change under control , while it continues to subsidise fossil fuels , issue permits for new extraction and undermine initiatives for home insulation and renewable energy .
‘ The IPCC has repeatedly stressed that the window is now and waiting for the next generation to act will be too late .’
What of the future ?
If more expensive petrol meant cheaper public transport , safer walking and cycling , cleaner cities and a much better future for the next generation , perhaps that would be a trade-off people would be willing to accept , especially if weighed against the current path : a one in 20 risk of existential catastrophic warming being triggered ( Xu and Ranathan 2017 ; IPCC 2022 ).
Most of us wouldn ’ t get on a plane with a one in 20 chance of crashing – but we ’ re basically putting our children on that plane .
42 OTnews June 2022