Promoting practice change towards environmentally sustainable health care: more than meets the eye

Excerpt

The health care industry contributes between 4 and 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.¹ Extreme temperatures and other effects of climate change cause excess morbidity and mortality.² In Canada alone, data suggest that negative environmental impacts account for an annual loss of over 23,000 disability-adjusted life years.³ In 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued an urgent warning, “Code Red for Humanity,” noting that we are edging ever closer to the global temperature rise threshold of 1.5°C set out in the Paris Agreement.⁴ It is predicted that beyond this limit, the ramifications on intensity and frequency of extreme events, on resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, food security, and carbon removal will outstrip humanity’s capacity for adaptation.⁵ Immediate action to halt further temperature increase is urgently required. …