Denise Cauchi, Doctors for the Environment
Wurundjeri and Woi Wurrong land, photos by Emma Byrnes
Groundswell had the pleasure of catching up with Denise Cauchi, Executive Director of Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), in her beautiful Brunswick home and garden. One year on from winning a $10,000 Groundswell grant, we were delighted to learn about the wonderful work of DEA over these past 12 months, and the unique power of doctors and health professionals to change hearts, minds and systems.
Could you tell us a little bit about Doctors for the Environment, and your work advocating for climate action?
Doctors for the Environment’s advocacy work is aimed at helping create the social and political change necessary to address climate change and other environmental issues that affect health. We do this by influencing the public and decision makers, and by mobilising the medical profession.
“The World Health Organisation has called climate change the greatest threat to public health this century. No-one is safe from air pollution from emissions and bushfires, increased mortality from extreme heat, threats to life from bushfires, increased mental illness, and threats to food and water security.”
Why are the voices of doctors such important messengers for climate and the environment?
As doctors are among the most trusted professions in our society, they are able to shift public opinion on climate and reach more conservative audiences.
Since Covid, the public and the government have taken medical advice to avert the levels of pandemic tragedy we have seen in other countries. If we can do this for Covid we can do this for climate change - the other health crisis.
The World Health Organisation has called climate change the greatest threat to public health this century. No-one is safe from air pollution from emissions and bushfires, increased mortality from extreme heat, threats to life from bushfires, increased mental illness, and threats to food and water security.
Understanding this message, along with the health benefits of healthy climate, has the power to shift the narrative on climate and the environment, because health affects us all. It becomes an immediate issue for every Australian, not just a remote concern of “inner-city greenies”.
What are some of the things Doctors for the Environment has been working on over the last 12 months?
We have been campaigning in four key moderate liberal electorates, building community support for climate action by establishing the causal link between climate change and health; and like the pandemic, the urgent need to act based on science. This model of nationally coordinated grassroots campaigning is new to DEA.
Throughout 2020 and 2021 our members met with 15 Federal and State MPs, contributed to 26 submissions to both federal and state inquiries, and presented at six parliamentary hearings across the country.
As we aim to change the narrative on climate, media is big part of our work. Throughout 2020 and 2021 we released 17 media releases, published 38 op-eds, and generated 311 media hits in news outlets around Australia.
In partnership with CAHA and other organisations, we also co-convened the health sector working group as part of the Better Futures Australia initiative in the lead up to COP26.
“We have been campaigning in four key moderate liberal electorates, building community support for climate action by establishing the causal link between climate change and health; and like the pandemic, the urgent need to act based on science.”
Our education work has included the release of fact sheets and other publications. We also started running a new monthly webinar series on climate and health, which is accredited professional development for GPs, and launched a podcast. A group of students and other DEA members finalised a curriculum resource for Australian medical schools to enable them to incorporate planetary heath into the medical curriculum.
“In a new partnership with the Australian Medical Association we have been educating and mobilising the medical profession to understand the links between health and climate, to reduce emissions in the health care sector and promote sustainability.”
In a new partnership with the Australian Medical Association we have been educating and mobilising the medical profession to understand the links between health and climate, to reduce emissions in the health care sector and promote sustainability. A joint webinar in September featured 12 medical colleges laying out their commitments to climate action.
This year DEA also signed an MOU with the Australian Federation of Medical Women – we will be working together next year to bring a gender lens to the climate and health movement.
We established a First Nations Solidarity Working group and contracted a consultant to advise us on how to be better allies and educate ourselves.
On top of all this, our members around the country have been running divestment campaigns in their states and universities, doing public talks, and working with other organisations on local climate and environment campaigns.
What have some of your achievements as an organisation been?
This year we celebrated our 20th anniversary. DEA has pioneered the climate and health movement in Australia, educating the public, politicians and the medical profession about the inextricable link between human health and the health of the planet since 2001.
Today, DEA is a highly regarded medical advocacy group that leads the national discourse on protecting health through care of the environment and has a growing membership of thousands of doctors and medical students in all states and territories.
DEA has for many years raised the alarm on the health risks from the mining and burning of coal and conventional and unconventional gas. In 2010 DEA led a “Coal is a health hazard” campaign and published about the health dangers of the coal industry, including an article featured on the front page of the Medical Journal of Australia in 2011.
“DEA has pioneered the climate and health movement in Australia, educating the public, politicians and the medical profession about the inextricable link between human health and the health of the planet since 2001.”
With assistance from legal firm Maurice Blackburn in 2012, we joined others to legally challenge the approval of a new coal-fired power station in Victoria. DEA’s case based on health grounds was likely the first such challenge from a medical organisation nationally or globally.
In 2015, DEA activities contribute to closure of Anglesea coal mine and power station.
In 2019/20, DEA’s Climate Emergency Declaration Campaign resulted in 7 medical colleges and the Thoracic Society of Australian and NZ declaring climate change a health emergency, and an open letter to the Environment Minister, signed by 180 health professionals.
What are some of the lessons learned over the last year?
Two big lessons stand out.
Firstly, that our doctors and medical students can reach conservative audiences and have the power to shift the narrative on climate in a way not available to many other groups. Rebecca Huntley’s Climate Compass work and other research has showed us how effective we could be if we are bold and ambitious and tailor our messages appropriately to the right audiences. We tested this out in our media strategy with an open letter to the prime minister, signed by the AMA and 10 medical colleges. It was covered by The Herald Sun, The Australian and Daily Telegraph, as well as the more climate-friendly media outlets.
“Our doctors and medical students can reach conservative audiences and have the power to shift the narrative on climate in a way not available to many other groups.”
The second has been the evolving lessons from our grassroots electorate campaign. We had never done nationally coordinated community campaigning, and our members were initially uncomfortable approaching members of the public (previously we had focussed on engaging medical colleagues). With training and the support of a Campaigns Coordinator, we now have strong electorate- based teams of doctors and students who are out there running community events and asking people to sign postcards to the PM. This campaign is still ongoing, with many lessons to learn, but so far it has showed us that we can be effective when we break out of our comfort zone.
What did the Groundswell grant mean for Doctors for the Environment?
The $10,000 grant enabled us to kick start the electorate campaign and try something bold and different. It gave us partial funding to employ our first ever campaigns coordinator and we have since then been able to attract financial and in-kind support from other sources. Without the Groundswell grant it would have been a lot harder to get the campaign up and running.
“The Groundswell grant gave us partial funding to employ our first ever campaigns coordinator and we have since then been able to attract financial and in-kind support from other sources.”
What are some lessons the climate movement could learn from the COVID pandemic?
When we act on the science, we can avert disaster!
Also, the public will respond to government policy that protects health and will accept some personal restrictions for collective good. This can be applied to climate once it is widely recognised as a public health issue.
“As planetary heath is vital for human health, we will be promoting the protection of nature and the importance of biodiverse ecosystems.”
What are your goals and ambitions for the year ahead?
DEA will prioritise using the trusted voices of doctors to advocate for multi-partisan commitment to climate action, for the sake of health. We will experiment with new ways of reaching conservative audiences.
As planetary heath is vital for human health, we will be promoting the protection of nature and the importance of biodiverse ecosystems.
DEA will also be leveraging its relationships in the medical profession to promote climate action and sustainability in the health sector.
What gives you hope?
People give me hope. The tide of public opinion has turned on climate change and we are now part of the mainstream current pushing for better policy and practice. I have no doubt we will get emissions down and renewable energy will force out fossil fuels – I just hope we can do it fast enough.
“People give me hope. The tide of public opinion has turned on climate change and we are now part of the mainstream current pushing for better policy and practice. I have no doubt we will get emissions down and renewable energy will force out fossil fuels – I just hope we can do it fast enough.”
Doctors for the Environment
We understand that human health and wellbeing are absolutely dependent upon a richly biodiverse planet where healthy ecosystems sustain life in balance. Humans need a future with clean air and water, healthy soils producing nutritious food, a stable climate, and a complex, diverse and interconnected humanity whose needs are met in a sustainable way.
