Climate Action
Veterinarians tackling climate change to protect animal health and welfare Vets for Climate Action is building bridges for climate action with education and mitigation to protect the health and welfare of animals. Words Caroline Zambrano
THERE’S NO denying that we are being clobbered by extreme
Veterinarians for Climate Action (VfCA), attended a webinar about
serious weather events.
(IPCC), she was dreading to hear about the current state of the world’s
temperatures, drought, flash floods, bushfires, severe storms, and other Scientists have determined that the change in climate is caused by
greenhouse gas emissions from human activities (e.g. electricity generation, livestock farming), which are trapping the sun’s heat and critically impacting on people and the natural world.
When veterinarian Dr Angela Frimberger, Deputy Chief of
the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate, its implications and potential future risks to people and animals. The veterinary oncologist and long-time climate action advocate
was right to be worried about IPCC’s most recent climate assessment. (Available to read www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/)
“The webinar was pretty sobering,” she said. “All the projections are more
severe and with higher confidence, posing a real threat to animal health and welfare, as well as to public health, and causing animal suffering.”
Frighteningly, the IPCC report also revealed current adaptation plans
are inadequate for the degree of change that is already locked in, “and this
concerns me hugely for animals, because most adaptation measures do not help wild animals and ecosystems at all,” Dr Frimberger added.
The reality is that climate change touches on everything we care about.
“As veterinarians, we worry about loss of biodiversity, climate change as a
health threat, and particularly about the impact on animals,” she continued. In 2014, Dr Frimberger trained as a Climate Reality Leader by the
Climate Reality Project, a charity founded by former United States Vice President Al Gore, aimed at bringing the world together to solve the
climate crisis and make a sustainable future a reality. Her 16-year-old daughter also became a Climate Reality Leader.
Today, she puts all her energy into tackling climate change through
Dr Angela Frimberger, Deputy Chief,Veterinarians for Climate Action 22 Pet Industry News | May/Jun/Jul 2022
VfCA, which represents concerned veterinarians, veterinary nurses,
practices, and industry partners across Australia who want climate action.
