Decarbonizing Health Care

The Biden administration has directed federal agencies to act and promote action to decarbonize the U.S. economy—to radically reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.   Decarbonizing also includes work to reduce the emissions of other gases that cause heat to be trapped in the atmosphere, like methane and nitrous oxide.

The consensus view is that we humans are in a pickle: we have already set in motion climate changes that affect health and well-being of people world-wide and all the other organisms that share our planet.   What can we do to make a difference?  

The Agency for Health Quality Research (AHRQ) commissioned the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to convene a group of experts to draft a decarbonization primer for healthcare organizations.   I helped the IHI team write the document.

Released last week (available here), AHRQ says:

“This primer serves as an action guide to help healthcare organizations reduce their carbon footprint and protect communities from climate threats. The primer describes six domains contributing to GHG emissions in healthcare: building energy, transportation, anesthetic gas, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, medical devices and supplies, and food. Building on this framework, the primer identifies core and elective measures to track progress and critical strategies for reducing GHG in each domain. The primer also features vignettes of what health systems have done to reduce GHG and includes a collection of resources and tools to support implementation. “

Analysis of emissions associated with healthcare shows that most of the emissions impact is tied to the goods and services used by healthcare, not the direct emissions from boilers or emissions associated with electricity to light buildings and run diagnostic equipment.   This supply chain phenomenon is the same for all industries and groups.    We’re all in this climate crisis together, for worse or better.