The carbon footprint of Australia’s healthcare sector is estimated at over 7% of Australia’s total emissions. While every sector needs to play its part to limit global warming and environmental degradation, the healthcare sector has an added responsibility (and opportunity) to lead mitigation of emissions and environmental impacts.
Of health care’s 7% contribution to Australian carbon emissions, hospitals are responsible for 44%, pharmaceuticals 19%, capital expenditure 8%, community and public health 6% and general practice 4%. Beyond carbon emissions, healthcare is a significant contributor to waste products and natural resource consumption, threatening our present and future health.
Advocating for sustainable health care
Doctors for the Environment Australia has been working for over a decade to address healthcare sector’s carbon footprint and environmental impact and to highlight the added health and financial co-benefits of healthcare sector action.
We advocated strongly for a National Health and Climate Strategy and the accompanying National Health Sustainability and Climate Unit and have been closely involved in the subsequent strategy and formation. As such we welcomed the formation of National Health and Climate Strategy as an an important whole-of-government plan to protect the health of Australians.
We have a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Medical Association, where we agree to work together for zero emissions in Australian health care.
- We agree that fundamental to mitigation is the requirement for national emissions reductions aligned to science-based targets.
- We will work to help achieve this by advocating for and supporting a transition to an environmentally sustainable healthcare sector. This includes the success of the National Health Sustainability and Climate Unit, equipping current and future doctors with the knowledge to provide sustainable healthcare, and promoting environmentally sustainable changes of practice for healthcare organisations and facilities.
- We will advocate for improved understanding and planning of the health impacts of climate change, including influencing the direction of the National Health and Climate Strategy, and improved data collection and research relating to healthcare’s environmental impact and the health impacts of climate change.
- We will work to improve public understanding about the human health benefits of a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, with support for reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions on health grounds.
- We will work to support the trusted voices of doctors and the wider health system to advocate for action on climate change, as we are often on the front line, treating patients who have been affected by extreme weather events.
GreenCollege Guidelines
DEA and the AMA have developed the GreenCollege Guidelines document for medial colleges, specialities, societies, councils and associations to lead by example through incorporating changes to operations that will assist in transforming the healthcare sector to net zero emissions. Supporting organisations can be found here.
AMA / DEA Webinar: Australia’s doctors – driving action on climate change
Australia’s leading doctors call on all Australian governments and the healthcare sector to prioritise climate mitigation and adaptation policies to protect the health of present and future generations.
The Australian Medical Association and Doctors for the Environment Australia’s annual webinar Australia’s doctors – driving action on climate change brings sustainability experts and the medical colleges together, to report on activities underway across the medical profession to embed sustainability and reduce emissions in health care.
The webinar represents a deep dive into sustainability where we hear from our Chief Medical Officer, Prof Paul Kelly who highlights the work of the National Health, Sustainability and Climate Unit. He is joined by the AMA president, Prof Steve Robson, DEA's Chair Dr John Van Der Kallen, DEA's Sustainability group co-chair Dr Eugenie Kayak and Dr Kate Charlesworth senior advisor of the Climate Risk & Net Zero Unit at NSW Health.
Delegates from multiple medical colleges outline the sustainability work within their speciality. The human health costs of global heating are rapidly rising, with ever increasing morbidity and mortality associated with heat waves, extreme weather events and other climate health impacts, both in Australia and across the globe. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources will have immediate health benefits through reducing pollution and many illnesses, as well as mitigating against future health impacts of climate change.
The 2023 AMA-DEA webinar presents brief updates on key activities by Australia's medical colleges in relation to climate change and sustainability and how each speciality will be specifically impacted by climate change. We aim to showcase the good work underway by the medical colleges in climate health and sustainability. The webinar is intended to create a forum for collaboration and accountability to ensure we are taking practical steps towards reducing our emissions across the health sector.