Making healthcare and health systems net zero

The climate emergency that is a key part of the Anthropocene poses substantial risks (and opportunities) for every sector of society, including health systems and professionals. There are three specific ways in which health systems are important. Firstly, patterns of morbidity are already changing across the planet as extreme weather events become more frequent, more severe, and last longer (heatwaves, floods, storms, wildfires, etc). Secondly, the changing climate is compromising how well health services can cope with and respond to both current and future demands. Thirdly, health services are themselves substantial contributors to the causes of climate change in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and avoidable ecological damage. The Anthropocene therefore affects both health and healthcare systems, but healthcare systems are also one of the causes of the Anthropocene.

This article describes how health systems and professionals can and should respond to the health and wider effects of the climate emergency—in particular, what we already know about the likely routes towards health systems that are net zero carbon.1