Why Do We Need Net Zero Healthcare Systems?
Climate change is the greatest global health threat of the 21st century. While healthcare aspires to adhere to the four pillars of medical ethics: beneficence (to do good), non-maleficence (to do no harm), autonomy (to allow patient choice where possible), and justice, climate change is undermining this. Human health and patient care are intrinsically interlinked with climate change. Therefore, positive action must be taken for healthcare to become Net Zero (meaning, reducing carbon emissions as much as possible so that any remaining emissions are re-absorbed from the atmosphere).
Climate change has severe and widespread implications for human health, affecting extreme-weather event-related injuries; heat-related illness; respiratory, cardiovascular, and vector-borne diseases; malnutrition; and mental health. Climate change also has severe consequences on healthcare systems in terms of jeopardizing delivery, access, quality, cost, and equity. Air pollution and climate change are estimated to currently increase health costs by $800 billion USD per year, and this will continue to worsen without proactive and coordinated action against climate change.
The healthcare sector contributes to 4.4% of annual global carbon emissions, meaning that if healthcare were considered a country, it would be the fifth largest carbon emitter. In the US, the healthcare sector contributes to approximately 8.5% of national carbon emissions, emphasising the significant impact that healthcare has on climate change.
Sustainability is gradually becoming a core feature across healthcare systems internationally. The UK was the first to declare an intent to become the world’s first Net Zero healthcare system for all of their emissions by 2045 and are also the first healthcare system to integrate Net Zero into legislation. In Europe, Health Care Without Harm’s Operation Zero aims to create a generic “decarbonisation roadmap” for all countries to utilise and adapt accordingly to decarbonise their own healthcare systems. COP26 has also accelerated this shifting momentum, with 50 countries committing to develop climate resilient and sustainable low carbon healthcare systems and 14 of them aiming to achieve this by 2050.
Overall, climate change reduces the healthcare profession’s ability to do good and uphold justice through its adverse consequences on healthcare systems. Its overall contribution to carbon emissions increases the global health burden. The ethical pillars of medicine are at risk of collapsing. This reiterates the necessity to transition to Net Zero healthcare for the benefit of people and planet.
