Healthcare gas emissions responsible for 10% of national emissions, 98,000 deaths annually
Addressing emissions has the potential to not only improve health but also provide cost-saving opportunities, committee says.
Photo: Bloomberg Creative/Jeff Lagasse
The U.S. healthcare system is responsible for an estimated 10% of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and they account for roughly 98,000 deaths annually, according to new findings from the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee.
The science behind heat-trapping emissions is simple in the broad strokes: Such emissions retain heat in the atmosphere and contribute to the increase in extreme weather events and to adverse population health outcomes.
Since the healthcare sector is responsible for so much of these GHG emissions, the House committee made the case that the industry has a role to play in curbing emissions and ensuring it is appropriately prepared for increasing climate-related events that will inevitably disrupt operations.
The committee said that such steps can improve health and add cost-saving opportunities. For instance, air pollution and the larger climate crisis costs the healthcare system roughly $820 billion each year. The industry's emissions have resulted in the loss of about 388,000 disability-adjusted life-years, and there were 114 hospital evacuations linked to climate catastrophes, the data showed.
This trend is unfortunately getting worse: Healthcare-sector GHG emissions rose 6% between 2010 and 2018, while 12% of acid rain and 10% of smog formation can be attributed to the industry.
If the global health sector was a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, the committee found.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
The good news, however, is that the treatment for these increasing challenges is also a cure. Estimating risk, implementing climate mitigation strategies and setting up more resilient systems have the potential to create more sustainable 21st century processes and reduce the health system's carbon footprint – which will, in turn, begin to combat the increasing rate of climate events.
Some in the industry have already begun making changes. About 74% of respondents to the committees' request for information have dedicated resources to climate change. The biggest barrier to those who couldn't make the commitment was a lack of both funds and staffing, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost half of respondents track their carbon footprints.
Many organizations are engaging in initiatives such as recycling, switching to LED lighting, hosting virtual meetings, adjusting transportation arrangements and using renewable energy.
Some have already achieved financial savings: Kaiser Permanente, for instance, has saved almost $20 million over nine years by improving energy efficiency, and almost $3 million annually by making a 15% reduction in water usage. In 2020, Kaiser achieved carbon neutrality.
"Healthcare providers' inadvertent contributions to worsening health outcomes as a result of changing climate conditions contradict their mission to improve health conditions," the committee wrote. "Ultimately, providers' commitment to comprehensively addressing carbon emissions and better preparing for extreme weather will align with the goals of practicing medicine and the Hippocratic Oath."
THE LARGER TREND
In June, more than 60 health leaders joined a Biden Administration initiative pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. This represents over 650 hospitals, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Organizations making this pledge include two of the five largest private health systems, Ascension and CommonSpirit Health.
Major medical associations America's Essential Hospitals, the American Association of Medical Colleges and the National Academy of Medicine, have also committed to take climate action. It also includes pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
Last year, HHS established the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity to work with federal agencies and other partners on such tasks as reducing greenhouse gas emissions in hospitals and health systems.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
