Healthier climate means healthier people: Lancet

The Australian Greens have welcomed a report in The Lancet medical journal, which highlights the huge opportunity to improve public health through action on global warming.

"Cutting pollution won't just maintain the status quo - it will make our entire population more healthy, which means more productive and more prosperous," said Greens Leader Dr Richard Di Natale.

"People get overwhelmed by the climate change doomsday scenarios, but we need pay more attention to all the ways we can make life better if we do cut pollution.

"We're talking about new jobs with lower health risks, healthier children in our schools, a stronger agricultural sector and a thriving natural environment for locals and tourists to enjoy.

"But Tony Abbott has no vision for a better Australia - he's proving himself willing to sacrifice the health of people and the economy, just to protect the profits of his mates in the old polluting industries."

Greens Deputy Leader Larissa Waters says the Lancet Report throws into sharp focus the negligence of the old parties in combining to cut the Renewable Energy Target.

"The RET cut that's set to pass the Senate tonight is a backward step on health, a jobs killer and environmental disaster," said Senator Waters.

"Tony Abbott has already made us the only the country in the world to get rid of a price on pollution, and now he's set to make us the only country to reduce a renewable energy target.

"The government is ignoring the real health impacts of coal mining and climate change, while scaring people about imagined health impacts of wind power.

"We don't need a wind farm commissioner, we need to leap on this opportunity improve human health by cutting pollution."