Health Professionals Mobilise to Treat Climate Health
OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate and Health Council has created a way for health professionals to reduce their carbon
footprint by growing trees in a dedicated carbon forest in Wellington.
The ‘Forests For Health NZ’ initiative allows health professionals to pay for their carbon emissions from flying,
driving, and electricity use. That money buys trees for a carbon forest project managed by Wellington City Council and
Nga Hau e Wha o Papararangi marae. Volunteer group ‘Woodridge Planters’ provides planting expertise, with students from
local schools doing the planting itself.
Dr George Laking from OraTaiao says “trees absorb carbon emissions as they grow and tree planting is an internationally
recognised way to remove excess carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible for dangerous global warming”.
Forests For Health NZ is a collaboration between OraTaiao and the Sustainable Business Network’s Carbon4Good Programme.
OraTaiao hopes this carbon forest will be adopted by many New Zealand health professionals and the hospitals and
institutions they work in.
Rachel Brown, CEO of the Sustainable Business Network, welcomes the launch of Forests for Health NZ. “We’re delighted to
be involved in developing a programme which sees health and environmental issues coming together” she says. “This is
one of many practical and affordable initiatives that the Sustainable Business Network is facilitating in order to help
create more restorative business practices, such as our carbon offset programme, Carbon4Good.”
While OraTaiao’s main focus is on rapidly reducing emissions, reabsorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is also
important. “We urge health professionals to cut their emissions first and foremost” says Dr Laking, adding “the carbon
forest is an additional step toward reducing climate health risks for us all”.
OraTaiao raises awareness of the serious threats to human health posed by our changing climate. The health sector
contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and Forests For Health NZ is one way of helping to reduce this
contribution.
“We are pleased to be stepping forward to the challenge of addressing climate change” Dr Laking ends.
ENDS