The delivery of modern healthcare is inadvertently exacerbating illness and injury to populations through its own pollution. The global healthcare sector—health services and its medical supply chain—is responsible for approximately 5% of global net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (>2 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)) and is therefore a major contributor to climate change. At the same time, healthcare capacity and human health are affected by climate change, with an increasing number of people seeking medical care because of illness caused by extreme weather conditions, air pollution and degraded environmental conditions. In response, health systems globally are taking adaptation actions to reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change. However, building climate-resilient and sustainable health systems encompasses both climate adaptation (eg, emergency preparedness) and emission-mitigation efforts (ie, reducing GHG emissions in the health system at their source), and the health sector has a vital role to play. Delivery of clinical care, including the production, transport and use of medical devices, consumables and pharmaceuticals, is estimated to account for ~70% of the healthcare sector’s total emissions. This must be reduced to uphold our responsibility to ‘first, do no harm’.
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