Healthcare Sector’s Rising Climate Footprint & The Net Zero Target
The healthcare industry is bestowed with a noble and an enormous responsibility to heal the world, but it's curious to notice that the healthcare sector is also responsible for the 5 per cent of the total carbon emissions in the world, if it were a country it would be the 5th largest emitter in the world, recently WHO’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the extent of healthcare’s carbon footprint at the global stage in an address “With about 5 per cent of global carbon emissions, the healthcare sector is a contributor to climate change, we must walk the talk by building more climate resilient and climate friendly health systems” he said.
According to a report by an International NGO - Healthcare Without Harm in 2019, India figures among the top ten countries that account for 75 per cent of global healthcare climate footprint. With the US, China and European Union leading the charts.
“The top 10 contributing countries have large geographic areas with significant populations which consequently leads to large healthcare systems. In fact, the top three, US, China and the EU alone contribute 56 per cent of the emissions. The major reason is a massive dependence on fossil fuels, especially in carbon-intensive supply chains which encompass the production, transport, and disposal of goods and services, such as pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, food and agricultural products, medical devices, hospital equipment, and instruments” stated Dr Vikram Vora, Medical Director, India Subcontinent, International SOS.
Indian healthcare has the 7th largest absolute health sector climate footprint. Although Indian healthcare’s per capita emissions are the lowest among the top 43 contributor countries, it still needs to correct its course as climate change is already wreaking havoc in the country and around the world.
Though Dr Vora explains that for India, this data is still unclear due to the differences in sustainability reporting standards (GRI-based and non-GRI based) being used by Indian healthcare providers where it becomes difficult to estimate GreenHouse Gases emissions on comparable metrics. Hence, the immediate need is for the industry to adopt uniform sustainability reporting standards.
Globally the major share of emissions (40 per cent) in the healthcare sector comes from the generation and distribution of electricity and thermal power supply accredited to healthcare activities and also to the manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services like the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. While 13 per cent of emissions are accounted for the onsite operational facilities at the healthcare facilities.
“Fossil-fuelled emergency generators are found in hospitals worldwide. In low and middle income economies, unreliable electricity grids leave the health facilities to depend on costly and polluting generators as their primary power supply. Because of health systems' 24-hour operations, extensive use of air conditioning and refrigerated storage, and specialised medical equipment and because many hospitals and care facilities are ageing and not properly designed for energy efficiency, health care can be seen as a major contributor to the climate crisis,” enumerated Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital.
In India 80 per cent of the healthcare emissions are generated domestically, in other words India’s healthcare carbon emissions equal to the emissions generated by 10 fully operational coal power plants.
The WHO has launched a new health and climate change platform to support the effort of countries to achieve low carbon, resilient and sustainable health systems and has also pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030.
The Net Zero Target
The Indian healthcare system needs to advocate a speedy phase-out of fossil fuels and an alteration to clean renewable energy to help move health care to the net -zero target while also guarding public health from localised pollution and climate change.
Dr Vora enumerates efforts to reduce sectoral carbon footprint needs to be a collaborative effort between all industries including healthcare. “This requires small, continuous and definitive strides to lower fossil fuel usage in supply chains, incentivising EVs (including ambulances) and enhancing the use of alternate resources of renewable clean energy in healthcare institutions,” he added.
In India, Chhattisgarh’s State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) and the State Health Department’s initiative together to establish, operate and maintain solar PV panels in close to 900 health centres and district hospitals is applaudable, which is aiding to reduce their carbon footprint while also building the climate resiliency. Although more such initiatives are required all over the country, it is a welcome start by the state.
Dr Chatterjee informed that the healthcare leaders typically focus on access, quality, and cost when identifying and assessing enterprise-level improvement opportunities. But it's high time for organisations to choose sustainable solutions to meet the needs of multiple priority areas in order to achieve clinical, financial, and environmental goals.
“The path to a green healthcare system or even the measure of it vows to be meticulous but is inevitable. And Indian health care needs to be prepared for it. If we can marshal health care development, growth, and investment with world climate goals, the 10 per cent of the world economy that health care stands for will help in driving decarbonisation and would lead to a climate-smart, better equitable, and healthier times ahead,” said Dr Chatterjee.
