Description
The world is sick. It has a worsening fever, and as health professionals, we must evoke our sacred oath to take the steps necessary to heal our living home. There are sectors and countries taking these steps to heal the planet, so why then is the health system a systematic laggard in climate action, while directly contributing 5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions? The side effects of climate change can draw a negative and direct line to human health, directly contradicting the health sector’s core mission to do no harm. Meanwhile, more than 90% of the organizations listed on the S&P 500 have taken steps to increase their transparency, especially around their actions that have climatic effects. Many of those companies have made public pledges to lower their greenhouse gas emissions, among other impactful actions. Hospitals and health campuses are often as large as these publicly traded companies, and yet, in the U.S., one of the richest countries in the world, only 15% of health sector organizations have committed to decarbonize. Globally, the this sector is a laggard in climate action and cannot wait for government mandates to take action. Lobbying governments to sign action into law is a powerful tool, but it must be a parallel action to voluntary and self-started action. Upcoming Security & Exchange Commission (SEC) mandates would provide some clarity and framework for health organizations to decarbonize, but these mandates would barely scratch the surface in a mostly private industry and may not propel a sector-wide movement. It is not too late to act, and in a world where businesses have focused on decarbonization as a primary objective, partnerships and collaborations can lead to an equitable, paced, and very manageable abatement in greenhouse gas emissions. There are some countries which have led the way in the effort to decarbonize and act a beacon for action for others to follow. In the United Kingdom, government legislation mandating net zero catalyzed the 4 branches of the National Health System (NHS) to set their own net zero targets by 2045. One example of action towards this pledge comes from NHS England, who announced a complete transition of their ambulance fleet to all electric vehicles, which will spare the equivalent of 87 kilotons of carbon dioxide every year, while still holding the care and comfort of patients as their highest priority. There are first steps in any organization’s journey towards climate neutrality, the first of which is accounting for all scoped emissions - for what gets tracked gets managed. Increase transparency, begin your reporting journey, and lobby your legislative bodies to act today – no one will do it for us.
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