About

Why join?

The World Health Organization states that ‘climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity’. As healthcare professionals we have a duty to raise the alarm and act to avert this rapidly escalating public health catastrophe. As part of the health community, we are in a unique position to campaign for mainstream recognition that the climate emergency is a health emergency, and one that is happening now.

We understand that some people face greater barriers to protesting than others, and we do not expect people involved with us to break the law or even be directly involved in protests if they are not comfortable. There are many other ways you can help.

The earth’s temperature records continue to be shattered, driven by increasing emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases, including methane. 2024 was the warmest year since modern record-keeping began around 1880. Extreme weather events have become an almost daily occurrence, killing thousands of people and wrecking lives.

Our last government granted 100 new fossil fuel licences, which we know will kill thousands upon thousands of people, predominantly in the global south. In May 2024 the High Court ruled that the government’s inadequate net zero strategy breaches the Climate Change Act. Labour swept to power pledging to shift from fossil fuels to greener, cleaner energy and announcing new goals including, at COP29, to reduce emissions by 81% by 2035. Whether and how this will happen is still uncertain, given their commitment not to revoke existing licences, including for the massive Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields (recently declared to have been granted unlawfully, due to their expected impact on the climate) and their £22 billion investment in costly and unproven carbon capture and storage. These decisions raise deep concerns for many.

Becoming an environmental defender by supporting disruptive protest may not be an easy decision as a healthcare professional. However, this is a last resort after decades of the scientific community and campaigners warning governments through other routes. There has been a total failure of conventional politics to address the problem. Historically, peaceful disruptive protest is how most social change has happened, with countless examples including the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement. Put simply, it works.

We empathise with any members of the public who have been negatively impacted by disruptive actions and HXR are focusing increasingly on disrupting the climate criminals – fossil fuel companies and the banks, insurance companies and lawyers who enable and support them – whilst minimising any disruption to the public. We also campaign against our regulators, such as the GMC, who have suspended health professionals for undertaking climate activism to protect public health. Members also take part in campaigns led by other groups, for example challenging the crackdown by government and the courts on our democratic right to peaceful protest, with Defend our Juries. Click here to see our wide range of campaigns and protests.

Being on the front line during the government’s negligent and corrupt management of the covid pandemic, we’ve all witnessed our leaders’ incompetence and contempt for science, and how they put the profit of their cronies above the health of their citizens. Big Oil, like Big Tobacco, has gotten away with lying through its teeth for decades to make profit at the expense of millions of lives. When we think about the effect of this on the people we care for we’re heartbroken and furious. But we won’t stand by.

We believe we have the power to come together and defeat them. As is the case with the healthcare worker strikes, the time has passed for asking nicely. The next few years will be an absolutely critical time in human history. Do you want to be able to look back and tell future generations that you did all you could?

Click on this link for frequently asked questions: https://healthforxr.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Screen Shot 2019-05-05 at 16.21.09.png

What is Extinction Rebellion?

We are aligned with Extinction Rebellion in terms of our values and tactics, however we organise separately.

Extinction Rebellion “is a socio-political movement which utilises nonviolent resistance to avert climate breakdown, halt biodiversity loss, and minimise the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse”

They have 4 demands:

1. Tell the Truth. All institutions must communicate the danger we are in. We must be clear about the extreme cascading risks humanity now faces, the injustice this represents, its historic roots, and the urgent need for rapid political, social and economic change.

[There has been some progress made, however Telling the Truth must be an ongoing process involving all government departments, the media and civil society, and should include a discussion of what is needed to overcome this crisis]

2. Act Now. Every part of society must act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025 and begin protecting and repairing nature immediately. The whole of society must move into a new precautionary paradigm, where life is sacred and all are in service to ensuring its future.

3. Decide Together. We demand a culture of participation, fairness and transparency. The Government must create and be led by a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice. Only the common sense of ordinary people will help us navigate the challenging decisions ahead.

4. The Fossil Fuel Era must end. We must end all new licences, approvals, and funding for fossil fuel projects as we begin a transition to a fair society centred on reparatory justice for all life on earth. We support the demand for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation treaty.

Do we back all 4 demands?

In short, yes.

There are 100s of groups, each with their own agendas all fighting under the same banner as Extinction Rebellion, even though there may be variations on policy.

It is our opinion that remaining united gives a much better chance of success than forming another group.

Useful links

https://www.thelancet.com/countdown-health-climate

Published annually, the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration, dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, and providing an independent assessment of the delivery of commitments made by governments worldwide under the Paris Agreement. All content on this page is either Open Access or has been made free to read with registration.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30127-3/fulltext

A fascinating article about the history of healthcare professionals campaigning against nuclear weapons, and how it relates to our current struggle.

You can find more articles and papers on activism, health and the climate on our library and resource pages here