What Is Health Care's Role in Combating and Coping with Climate Change?
The extreme climate events being experienced in the United States are significantly impacting the health care system. In fact, climate change has been shown to hamper access to health services, increase health care costs, and exacerbate health care disparities. While health care systems shoulder the burden of caring for individuals affected by climate change, they also contribute to the problem. The health care sector alone is responsible for 8.5% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
There are proactive steps health systems can take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Our climate and health policy research team has identified several key steps health systems seeking to make a positive change can take. By implementing these measures, health systems can contribute to the fight against the climate crisis while simultaneously working to enhance health outcomes and equity.
Three Things Health Systems Can Do to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Understand the emissions footprint.
Understanding the total amount of GHGs emitted from both direct and indirect emissions will allow facilities to understand where they are, measure progress over time, and identify “hot spots” — problematic areas where special attention is needed. It is important to focus on supply chain emissions, which make up the majority of health systems’ emissions.
Define emissions targets.
Short- and long-term emissions targets should reflect organizational priorities and evolving stakeholder expectations. Many organizations have aligned their targets with international and White House and Department of Health and Human Services pledges that seek to reduce emissions by half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Establish governance mechanisms.
Board directors and executives can play a key role in advancing decarbonization as an organizational priority. They should make sure that climate resilience — that is, the ability to prepare, respond, and recover from climate events — and decarbonization are thoroughly integrated into the strategic planning process.
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Recent publications exploring the intersection of health care, climate change, and solutions to ease the impact.
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Did you know that the health system itself contributes to climate change, creating about 8.5 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gases? Here, researchers explore some decarbonization strategies — such as switching to renewable energy sources, using energy-efficient construction, improving transportation efficiency, and other changes.
