The Secretary General of the Academy of Athens, Christos Zerefos, referred to the effects of the climate change that the planet is already experiencing, but also to the possible connection between the melting of the ice and the possible release of frozen viruses, which had been frozen.
For pandemics and their association with climate change spoke at the 1st International White Tower Forum, on “After COVID-19 Era. Healthy, Sustainable Cities: Challenges, Opportunities & Prospects “, the former Director of Health and Wellness Policy and Governance at WHERE Of Europe, Agis Tsouros and the general secretary of the Academy of Athens, Christos Zerefos.
Improving public health systems to the extent that they will be able to cope effectively with crisis management such as coronavirus pandemicgoes through the cities, the mapping of social groups and the treatment of inequalities, stressed Mr. Tsouros.
“We are talking about health systems at a time when the determinants of health, what makes us healthy is not the health system, but it is our neighborhood, the access we have to green, the ability to have social support.”pointed out Mr. Tsouros explaining how “Starting with the way you build a neighborhood you will be able to determine the quality of life and health of all those who live there”.
Mr. Tsouros focused on the issue of inequalities in terms of access of different social groups to the health system but also in infrastructure and services that structure healthy living conditions, while noting that “In our country we have never measured health inequalities depending on the socio-economic and educational level.”
Referring specifically to the period of the pandemic, he stressed that he highlighted the element of vulnerability. “Who paid the heaviest price for a coronavirus pandemic worldwide?” The poor, the vulnerable, those who were excluded. Everywhere. If we want the next pandemic to succeed in its management or some consequence of climate change, whatever technological innovation we have, if we have not mapped the community we take care to know when the bell rings who are vulnerable, who live alone , who have special needs, chronic diseases, we lost the game again. “Because we are repeating the same model of our inability to be ready to meet the expectations of a community that is empowered, resilient and active.”he underlined, noting that he is currently working in the Geneva office of the WHO in the preparation of a global strategy, entitled “community resilience in the face of crisis” (community resilience to the crisis)
According to him, the pandemic beyond the element “How vulnerable we are, how fragile, even the world economy” highlighted other features such as the questioning of global solidarity. “When the need arose, who bought the vaccines first? Instead of ensuring a minimum level in Africa, vaccination coverage had reached 70% in Europe and 2% in Africa. The pandemic makes a wild awakening, it puts us in front of issues that if we do not see them clearly in every field, it does not take us to pass the ball to our children “he said.
«Χρ. Zerefos: When what we call extreme today becomes commonplace, then there will be no return “
In its effects climate change the planet is already experiencing, but also the possible connection of the melting of the ice with the possible release of old viruses, which had been frozen, said the general secretary of the Academy of Athens, Christos Zerefos.
“Temperatures over the last 120 years in the Mediterranean have averaged more than 2 degrees Celsius. […] Unfortunately, what we are looking to find for the next 10-30 years, we have already exceeded the previous 120. The rains in October-March have shown a destabilization mainly after 1970, at the Mediterranean level. Winters get warmer, low temperatures as they go and decrease in number, from 100 days with low temperatures on average in winter we have dropped to about 25. On the contrary the days with conditions that can potentially create heat, ie temperatures above 41 degrees Celsius from 3 in the thirties 1900-1929 have exceeded 12 “, said Mr. Zerefos and presented the models that show the evolution of the planet if the goals set by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change are met and respectively if there is no action. In the second case, the drought and desertification scenarios he presented for the Mediterranean region appear nightmarish.
Referring to the pandemic, Mr. Zerefos observed that 8 out of 10 pandemics have started in China in the last 100 years. “We showed 1.5 years ago that melting ice releases frozen old viruses and the scenario is nightmarish,” he said, referring to the need to “go to areas where the ice is melting to look for old viruses.”
“We must learn to live with a pandemic, just as we must learn to live with extreme phenomena due to evolving man-made climate change”said and referred to data from the lockdown period where “Pollution not only in Greece decreased by more than 40 to 50% in many parts of Europe.”
“Not that the lockdown is good but it shows how the environment could be like we lived it for a while, we saw the skies clearer, the seas clearer, we saw dolphins coming out to the beach.”
Referring to the prospect of de-ligation and the upheavals brought by the war in Ukraine, Mr. Zerefos noted: “There is a limit, it has been set at 2050. From what models we have seen – we are currently working on 21 monstrous models – even until 2050 and something we can go back. After that we will have exceeded the limit of increase of 2 degrees Celsius, which means that there will be no return. This will happen when what we call extreme today becomes commonplace and then we will not be able to go back. That is why we are calling for everything to be done faster “. He stressed that the war in Ukraine “showed the delay and unpreparedness of the whole of Europe in decoupling from imported fuels from countries that have political instability, have imperial dispositions, against all of them, the EU showed great inexperience and we are in danger next winter if the closed tap from the east will continue even if Germany freezes “.
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