Healthcare sector is major contributor to climate crisis: Report
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A new report by Health Care Without Harm in collaboration with Arup-- 'Health care's climate footprint: How the health sector contributes to the global climate crisis and opportunities for action-- stated that if the global healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet.
The report finds that the healthcare footprint is equivalent to 4.4 percent of global net emissions (two gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent).
The report published by IANS states healthcare emissions are equivalent to the annual greenhouse gases produced by 514 coal-fired power plants.
The report, released simultaneously at events in London and Medellin in Colombia, makes the case for a transformation of the healthcare sector that aligns it with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"Not only are doctors, nurses and health facilities all first responders to the impacts of climate change, but hospitals and healthcare systems paradoxically make a major contribution to the climate crisis," said Josh Karliner, one of the authors of the report.
The report finds that the healthcare footprint is equivalent to 4.4 percent of global net emissions (two gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent).
The report published by IANS states healthcare emissions are equivalent to the annual greenhouse gases produced by 514 coal-fired power plants.
The report, released simultaneously at events in London and Medellin in Colombia, makes the case for a transformation of the healthcare sector that aligns it with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"Not only are doctors, nurses and health facilities all first responders to the impacts of climate change, but hospitals and healthcare systems paradoxically make a major contribution to the climate crisis," said Josh Karliner, one of the authors of the report.
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