In October 2021, HCWH Europe held its third annual European Healthcare Climate summit. Sustainable healthcare professionals from all over the world came together for the launch of the Healthcare decarbonisation toolkit: Experiences from the Mediterranean region. As well as hearing from sustainable healthcare leaders, participants shared their thoughts on how policymakers can accelerate healthcare decarbonisation in the region. Read a full summary of the event in the report below.
Background
The Mediterranean region is already facing significant threats from climate change, which are testing the resilience of its healthcare systems. This, combined with the fact that the region’s climate brings its own set of challenges (such as a reliance on air conditioning and cooling systems) and opportunities (a significant untapped potential for renewable energy generation), makes it ideally suited to serve as a best-practice region for zero emissions healthcare in Europe.
Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe’s Low-carbon healthcare in the Mediterranean region project supported hospitals across Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy to establish internal carbon management teams and plans to transition to zero emissions healthcare. It also facilitated networking between hospitals in the region and encouraged an exchange of best practice. By taking a health provider-level approach during the project, HCWH Europe was able to provide more hands-on support to participants and pilot a bottom-up methodology to carbon management, which provided vital input for the development of a toolkit for healthcare decarbonisation.
Healthcare Decarbonisation Toolkit
The toolkit offers an introduction to the key concepts of carbon management, as well as a practical step-by-step guide to developing a carbon management plan to chart a course for decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement.
During the European Healthcare Climate Summit 2021, attendees learned more about the toolkit and the experiences of pilot hospitals that provided vital input for its development. They also gave valuable input for a series of policy recommendations HCWH Europe developed for the region, based on key gaps in climate and health policy discovered while supporting hospitals in key Mediterranean countries.